When Lightning Strikes
by dreaming in black and white
Summary: In BD, we hear that Paul imprinted on Jake's sister. But how does he really feel about it? The nastiest shock of his life, second only to phasing into a werewolf of course, is quite possibly discovering that Jake is his potential brother-in-law...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Look! I'm alive!**

**I've been doing exams for the past god-knows-how-long, and as I finish tomorrow my mind began to write a new story...quite possibly partially inspired by the photos of the pack in New Moon, this is a fic about Paul.** **I don't think I've ever actually read any fics about him at all, so he's basically a completely clean slate - which is amazingly fun!**

**This is set around the time of the beginning of BD (despite any misgivings I have about that book), where all we really hear about Paul is that he's imprinted on Jacob's sister...**

**I hope you enjoy it, and I'd really appreciate some reviews letting me know what you think! It's going to be a multi-chapter thing, not sure yet how long, but I guarantee I won't give up on it. Pinky promise...the holidays are coming up!**

**Lots of love and looking forward to hearing from you all, hope you enjoy! xxx :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Damn.**

* * *

**When Lightning Strikes**

"It's not fair and I think you're really mean...I think you're really mean...I think –"

Paul's temper – never the most forgiving thing in the world – finally snapped as his little sister restarted the one song he possibly despised above all others. "For god's sake, Haley, shut the hell up!" he roared, hoping to startle her into silence; but instead of being terrified, as any other self-respecting ten year-old would be, the girl turned on him with a scowl.

"You're not supposed to swear in front of me, mom says," she scolded with scrawny arms crossed over her chest.

"Um.."

"You said," and here her eyes narrowed, voice dropping to make sure nobody else heard her, "you said _hell._ And you told me to shut up, too. I'm telling mom."

Paul wondered briefly how it was that he, whose mere glare was capable of having grown men backing away nervously, was utterly unintimidating to the skinny girl in front of him. For a second he was possibly proud of her – she was _his_ little sister, after all – but that soon faded to annoyance. "You wouldn't dare," he taunted her with one raised eyebrow. "What's mom going to do, after all?"

Haley drew herself up to the tallest her somewhat diminutive height could achieve, barely coming up to her brother's elbow, but managed to look surprisingly haughty for it. "She could _ground_ you. Or take away your pocket money. Or not let you watch the tv for a week." Her brown eyes positively glowed as the imagined punishments grew worse. "Make you do the washing up for a week. Make you_ hoover_. Or – _why are you laughing at me?_"

"I'm not." Recognising the rather unhealthy red shade of his sister's face as a sign that she was about to turn into a very loud, high-pitched and sharp-elbowed little demon, Paul took the opportunity to change the subject. "D'you want a snack before dinner, Hales?"

All the wind taken out of her sails, but with no viable route to complain, Haley dropped down into her chair with a huff, arms folded belligerently and lower jaw sticking slightly out. "No." Then, because he was studying her with a half-amused glance and she wasn't sulking (not really) she added a short, "Thanks."

With the nonchalant shrug he'd had a lot of practice irritating his mother with, Paul turned into the refrigerator and began digging through it, tossing food out onto the kitchen counters. He ate far more in the process of preparing than actually ended up on his plate, but that couldn't really be helped, he reasoned. It was one of the occupational hazards of being a wolf; also, in his mind, one of the benefits, because however much he ate now he never felt sick – not like before, when he ate just because it seemed a shame to waste the last Reese's on Haley, who never really appreciated it anyway. And there was the proof that he needed to eat it, anyway. He was growing, wasn't he?

"Paul, that's gross!" Haley wrinkled her nose as he took a swig straight from the carton of juice. "There are others in this household besides you, you know," she added primly in a tone so much like their mother's that he choked while she grinned in triumph and began humming under her breath again. He tried to ignore it, but as it grew louder and she added the words his irritation increased.

"Hales, do you even know what that song's about?"

She shrugged, carried on singing with a wicked hint of a smile. "It's not fair and I think you're really mean..."

"Seriously, Haley. You're ten."

_That_ made her stop. "I'm nearly eleven!" she exclaimed indignantly. Then she paused. "What's it about?"

Paul nearly groaned. He should have known that question was coming, and he wasn't exactly planning on explaining it to a kid who still thought 'hell' was a swear word. "It's a stupid song," he evaded.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. What's it about?" she demanded again.

He took great pleasure in taking a massive bite of food and pointing to his mouth, eyes widely innocent.

"_Paul_!"

"What?"

"Tell me what it's about, or I'm telling mom about you eating all the food again!" He shrugged carelessly, which only served to infuriate her more. "I'll tell her you _swore _at me!"

"Hales, you're the only person I know who still thinks that's a 'swear'. And you know that, because for all the times you've threatened? You've never told her." His tone mocked until her small face crinkled up and turned as red as before.

"I'll tell her that you keep pictures of naked ladies under your bed!"

Well, he hadn't known that she'd found those. Jeez, he'd have to find a better hiding place. "Than I'll tell Dad what _really_ happened to his favourite sweater the other week."

"I'll tell them that you keep sneaking out of the house at night!" Haley's voice had risen several notes, and Paul winced at the pitch.

"So I'll tell that Brady kid you've got a crush on him." He knew he'd hit home when his sister's face paled and she shrank back, aghast; shrugged when she stared at him in disbelief.

"You wouldn't!" Those massive eyes suddenly teared up, and he felt like shit as she ran from the room. "You're so _mean_!"

Aw, hell. He'd made her cry now. His mom'd give him crap over that.

As if the thought had summoned her, the sound of an engine grumbling up the driveway had him hurrying to clear the kitchen – run the dirty plate cursorily under the tap, brush any crumbs from the counter top onto the floor, and shove the juice carton back into the fridge. When his mom came in, he was leaning casually back in one of the kitchen chairs with books scattered across the table in front of him. "Hi, mom," he greeted her.

"Hi, sweetheart." She eyed him suspiciously, gaze darting from the books to the refrigerator and back to his face. "Are you working?"

"Uh..." _Why not?_ "Yeah. Holiday homework."

"Still haven't got the hang of those tricky triangles yet, then?" She smiled knowingly as he glanced down to realise that the books were his sister's.

"Oh, Haley must have picked up the wrong books when she just went upstairs now," Paul lied glibly, standing quickly as he heard the girl's footsteps just outside the room. "I've got to go over to Jared's. He's...got some of my Spanish notes to copy up from when he was off sick." And from every lesson since his change, because he never paid any attention any more with Kim sitting next to him. "I'll see you later..."

"Don't be back too late, you've got your chores to do!" his mom called after as he quickly made his escape before she could see Haley had been crying. Just in time; he was halfway out of the front door when he heard her exclamation of, "Oh, honey, what's the matter? Why have you been crying?" Haley, certainly, would have forgotten all about the incident by tomorrow morning's breakfast, and if he could stay out of his parents' way long enough they'd be too busy to reprimand him.

Feeling slightly smug with his evasion tactics, Paul slipped into the trees just across the road from where his house stood, running only long enough to be out of sight before stopping to remove his clothes. He only needed shorts when he got to Sam and Emily's house, so he left the others bundled up in his customary hiding place – a hollow where branch met tree trunk – revelling in the flex of his muscles as he reached up, the cool murmur of the breeze against his heated skin.

Then he was running again, but this time when his feet met the earth there were four paws, wind blowing back through silver-grey fur as he raced through the familiar pine forests to meet his pack. He could feel them already in his mind; the Alpha and Jared, and Brady (whom he was pretty sure already knew about Haley's crush) and, in some far distant part of his consciousness, the darkness that was Jacob's awareness. As far as Paul was concerned, Jacob's impromptu trip halfway across the country wasn't such a big thing – the guy had pretty much asked for it, dragging the leech-girl around all the time – but he was still brother, still pack. Even if he was an arrogant idiot most of the time.

_Paul,_ the Alpha's voice came through warningly.

_Sorry,_ he sighed, but knew that Sam would be able to read the lack of contrition in his mind. _Do you need me around?_

_We're pretty much covered,_ the pack mind told him. _But you could swing round by Billy's place, and then go down along the beach_._. _Paul didn't need to tell them he was already turning towards the Black house; they knew, could feel it.

_You could see if Billy needs anything, _Jared suggested. _The sister arrived a couple days ago, and girls always need stuff._

_Ugh, sisters._ A brief flash of the argument with Haley ran through his mind, and he felt the others' amusement.

_Be nice._

_I will,_ Paul grumbled.

* * *

**AN: Please review! And thanks for reading xxx :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and/or added this story to their alerts! I was fairly stunned at the response, considering it's not an Edward/Bella fic...I'd still love to hear from more of you, though, because I'm greedy like that ;D  
**

**I'm sure there was something I was going to say here. But damn, now I've forgotten what it was .**

**Anyway...hope you enjoy this chapter! Here's a little recap of what happened last time, in case you forgot...**

**

* * *

**

_We're pretty much covered,_ the pack mind told him. _But you could swing round by Billy's place, and then go down along the beach_._. _Paul didn't need to tell them he was already turning towards the Black house; they knew, could feel it.

_You could see if Billy needs anything, _Jared suggested. _The sister arrived a couple days ago, and girls always need stuff._

_Ugh, sisters._ A brief flash of the argument with Haley ran through his mind, and he felt the others' amusement.

_Be nice._

_I will,_ Paul grumbled.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

His assurances of good behaviour were met less than convincingly – apparently it was possible to convey a disbelieving snort with your mind – so Paul was sulking when he emerged from the forest next to Billy Black's house. He'd have been surprised to realise just how much of his little sister's temper mimicked his own, but as none of the other wolves (save Jacob, perhaps) were foolhardy enough to bring it up, he remained blissfully unaware of how reminiscent his scowl was of a ten year-old's.

The dilapidated car Jacob had rebuilt sat unused in the driveway as it had since he'd left. It combined with the peeling paint of the woodwork and overgrown garden to give the house a rather mournful air of neglect, as if nobody lived there any longer. Paul wondered if he should mention it to Sam; Billy was one of the tribal elders, after all, even if he was Jake's father.

The small house looked empty, but Paul made his way up the drive anyway; Sam wouldn't be happy if he knew that Paul's interpretation of_ swinging by Billy's place_ was simply walking past. It wasn't that he didn't like Billy, but it was always a little awkward. He was sure that Billy knew Paul and Jacob didn't get on, so making nice to Jake's dad was like sucking up to the parent of that kid in your class you couldn't stand in second grade, like being offered cookies by their mom while they glowered at you for pushing them over in the school yard earlier. Not that Paul had ever been one to turn down cookies, and he'd pushed a lot of kids down in school.

Paul could hear a tap running inside, the soft clink of dishes clear to his enhanced hearing; it was obvious someone was home, so he rapped his knuckles carefully against the door. He'd made the mistake of knocking too hard once before, and was still trying to explain those dents away to Embry's mother. He avoided her a lot.

"Door's open!" Billy called, so Paul stepped right in – the front door unlocked as ever, because wolves didn't exactly carry key rings – and glanced around. He could immediately tell that a girl had moved into the house.

Two pairs of shoes lay neatly matched by the front door instead of in their usual haphazard pile; a bright bunch of flowers sat cheerfully in a vase by the window. The throw over the couch had been straightened, and there was a pile of washing – _girl_ clothes – folded over one arm. Most noticeably to Paul, however, was the permeating scent of her, of fruit and flowers and the shampoo which he supposed now sat in tidy rows in the bathroom cabinet, taking up far more space than could reasonably be justified for a single person.

Paul had a sister; he knew how much room they took up.

Billy rolled into the room in his chair, a welcoming smile spread across his grizzled features. "Paul! Good to see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks." He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, trying to fight away the feeling of being a little boy about to be scolded for some misdeed. It was a feeling he'd once been very familiar with; now he was better at hiding what he'd done from his parents, but Billy's gaze somehow always seemed all-knowing. "Ah...Sam sent me over to see if you needed anything? With..." he struggled to remember the sister's name, drew a blank. "You know, an extra person around and all. A girl."

"Thanks for the thought, but I think we've got everything. Rachel," Billy's knowing grin made Paul squirm as no other adult had the capability of doing, "went to the store just this afternoon. She didn't approve of the food I had."

"Oh. Okay, then." He glanced down at his bare feet, trying not to look guilty and wondering what it was about him that always made him feel like he'd done something wrong when he spoke to Billy. "Well...I'll be off, then. Got to finish patrol."

"All right. Say hi to your parents for me, kid."

"Sure." He probably wouldn't, Paul considered as he made his way back under the trees to change again. It only ever prompted questions; _why were you at Billy's?_ And _I thought you were going to Jared's about schoolwork?_ Too much hassle that a simple omission could avoid.

_Everything's fine,_ he told the others once he'd changed and could feel the comforting familiarity of their minds linked with his once more. _There's...girl stuff everywhere._

He could sense their amusement. _I can't wait until you imprint,_ Jared teased, but Paul only scoffed in return.

_Whatever. I'm heading over to the beach now._ Paul liked patrolling the beach; the shifting stones under his feet, the soft dampness of the sand, the salty tang of the air, but most of all he liked the open expanse of sky above him, the space all around. When there was nobody else around, he liked to run at top speed along the length of the beach, for once not having to dodge around the trees which filled the gaps of the forest, and being able to feel the rush of the wind from the sheer speed. It was exhilarating in a way beyond the normal excitement of running as a wolf, despite the sand which got caught up in his fur and itched uncomfortably when he put his clothes back on.

Today, however, that wouldn't be possible; he could already see that there was a lone figure standing further along, so with a sigh he phased back into human form. No matter what the tribal legends said, people still started reaching for their guns when they saw giant wolves anywhere in the vicinity, and the irritation of having hunters after the pack wasn't worth the momentary enjoyment of running along the beach. Besides, the screams were a little annoying.

Trying to appear casual – because honestly, what teenager walks along a beach by themselves for no reason? – Paul strolled along the edge of the water, stopping every now and then to hurl a rock out into the grey waves. Watching lumps of stone fly vast distances and then _plop_ down into the sea was strangely therapeutic, particularly if there was nobody around to pick a fight with. Possibly the only reason Paul might even consider missing Jacob was that the other sixteen year-old was so easily baited.

He hadn't noticed how far along the shore he'd come until a slight sound made him realize that the only other inhabitant of the beach was just up ahead. She was standing with her back to him, bent down to choose a stone – an action which pointed a _very_ attractive ass in his direction – before straightening to skim the rock out across the water. It bounced six times before sinking.

"Impressive." Paul made his way closer with a grin as she spun around, startled – only to stop dead in his tracks as she faced him.

The world seemed to shift, spinning in dizzying circles so that it was like _she_ was the only thing in focus and she _was_ the world; like someone had punched their fist right into his chest to grab his heart and _squeeze_. It was as if he'd been struck by lightning, as if every hair on his body was standing on end because all that he could see and smell and sense was her and she was everything.

She was _his, _and he would do anything for this girl he'd barely set eyes on. He was in love with her – _in_ _love_ – and for the first time he really, really believed everything the others had said about imprinting. Their eyes met, and he could see the rest of his life in that brown gaze.

Neither of them moved for a long moment. Paul stood with his smile frozen in place, utterly immobilized as he stared into the face of the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Not only the most beautiful; her eyes and the soft curve of her lips showed that she was the kindest, most wonderful creature he'd ever met. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, draw those slender curves against him, and never let go. Her scent in his nostrils was all fruit and flowers and girl and –

Wait. Abruptly jerked from his little reverie, Paul's eyes widened slightly as he studied her again. She was definitely Quileute, and there was something strangely familiar about her, but that smell was one he'd certainly experienced before, and recently.

Aw, crap. She was Jacob's sister.**  
**

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading, and please leave me a review to let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you xxx :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: First of all, thank you so much for the alerts and reviews i've been getting! Every one makes me smile when I receive it in my inbox, so thanks ;D**

**Secondly...here's chapter 3! In case you haven't guessed yet, I'm aiming for weekly posting - which has worked so far, but the next one might be a little late - we're currently putting on a play at school which is taking up a hell of a lot of my time! Over soon, though, so the delay souldn't be toto long - if at all. I just thought I'd warn you in advance. I also promise that I'll get around to replying to your reviews...possibly as soon as this chapter is posted, but I do have to go to bed ;)  
**

**Um..three. There was one. Really there was. Uh...right. Just taking this space to promote The Indie TwiFic Awards (wwwDOTtheindietwificawardsDOTcom) which are accepting nominations right now for under appreciated fics in the fandom. This is a fantastic idea from Gustariana and hgmonster, so go check it out and nominate your faves...but make sure you read the rules first.**

**Fourth! I keep forgetting to say, but a couple of my fics have been nominated for the 'You're Never Too Young to Write' contest at twilightedteensblogDOTblogspotDOTcom. I'd really love it if I got at least some votes! And if not, there are some really great recommendations over there you might like.**

**Sorry for babbling on...here goes chapter 3. Enjoy! xxx :)**

* * *

_She was his__, and he would do anything for this girl he'd barely set eyes on. He was in love with her - __in love - and for the first time he really, really believed in everything the others had said about imprinting. Their eyes met, and he could see the rest of his life in that brown gaze._

_Wait. Abruptly jerked from his little reverie, Paul's eyes widened slightly as he studied her again. She was definitely Quileute, and there was something strangely familiar about her, but that smell was one he'd certainly experienced before, and recently.  
_

_Aw, crap. She was Jacob's sister._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"You're Rachel," he blurted.

Confusion flickered briefly in her eyes. "Yes. And you are...? I'm sorry, I've just arrived back in town, and I don't remember you."

Even though _he_ hadn't remembered her either, that lack of recognition wounded Paul briefly. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, but the first words that spilled out were, "You're Jake's sister."

"Yeah." Her lips pursed minutely in disapproval, but Paul caught it and possibly fell in love with her even more for that. Then it occurred to him that perhaps she hated being referred to by her familial connections as much as he did.

"So, do you...like being back here?" He hoped that she would say yes, because it would be so much harder for him to leave the pack to go where she wanted to live than for her to stay here with him. Not that that would stop him.

Thankfully, something shone in her eyes at the question. "It's great! I really missed La Push...I always forget how much I love it here. Even with Mom gone...I love it. I'm hoping that's what'll bring Jake back," she admitted, smile fading slightly.

"Oh." There was a brief, awkward silence while Paul searched desperately for something else to say.

Rachel obviously felt the uncomfortable silence too, because she turned away first. "Well, I'd best be getting back home," she stammered. Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment and Paul froze, barely daring to hope...but then she looked away, began to walk in the other direction.

"Wait!" Panicked at the concept of her leaving, Paul trotted along at her side like a faithful puppy. He felt as pathetic as the analogy, but couldn't help it; he now understood why the others who'd imprinted all acted as they did, abruptly regretted teasing them so much. They were going to give him hell. "Will you..." he swallowed nervously as she turned those beautiful brown eyes on him. "Will you go out with me sometime?"

She spun slowly around to face him. "Um...I don't even know your name."

"It's Paul," he replied quickly.

"Paul." His name from her lips sounded like she frowned. "Not..._you're_ not that kid who used to go to school with my brother, are you?"

Half of him was ecstatic that she remembered him; the other was crushed beyond words that she'd described him as a kid. "Yes. But I've grown up a lot," he added hastily.

"I can see that." For the first time, her eyes drifted briefly down the exposed expanse of his muscled chest before snapping up to his own again, cheeks slightly pink. "Look, Paul, how old are you?"

His heart sank. His age was the only thing he couldn't change about himself for her. "I'm old enough."

She sighed, and perhaps he was imagining the genuine regret in her eyes but he didn't think so. "The thing is, Paul, you're not."

His shoulders slumped in abject misery. "May I at least walk you home? I know where you live." He realised, as he said it, just how much that sounded like something a stalker would say, and backed up with his hands held in front of him apologetically. "I didn't mean it like..."

Rachel laughed, and the sound was perfect. "I know. You're going in the other direction, though."

Paul dropped his gaze, shrugged with embarrassment as he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her. "Honestly? I'd ask to go with you even if you said you were going to the airport to fly to Europe." Horror seized him, and he glanced up again frantically. "Please don't say you're going to do that."

She was studying him with wide eyes which held an odd expression. "Why do you look at me like that?" Rachel asked wonderingly. "If I didn't know better, I'd say –" She cut herself off, biting her lip. He waited, watching the way the emotions flickered across her face, how the breeze stirred her dark hair, until her eyes lifted back to his and he was transfixed once more. "What am I to you?"

"You're everything," he replied instantly without thinking.

Rachel drew in a long, uneven breath. "Maybe you could walk me home," she told him shakily. "But...and I'm serious, Paul...that's not a promise for anything else."

He nodded in understanding, but wasn't able to stop the massive grin which sprung across his face. It took enough willpower not to leap up and do a little dance of victory at being allowed to spend more time with her.

They walked along in silence beside one another, Paul acutely aware of the way Rachel walked, how she smelled, and the way in which she kept glancing across at him. He felt like he should be disgusted with himself, but for some reason couldn't drag up the amount of snark necessary. God, the guys really were going to give him hell, but he was too happy to care. Their fingers brushed together at one point, the contact sending sparks through his body as her eyes shot to his in shock. Paul couldn't help beaming, only to receive a slightly concerned look from Rachel. Maybe he should tone down the happiness a little bit, at least until she understood his euphoria. He wanted to tell her everything, blurt it all out to her because the concept of keeping secrets from her made him uncomfortable.

When they came to the rocky steps which led up from the beach, his hands itched to take hold of hers, to make sure she didn't fall; perhaps Rachel saw it in his expression, because she gave him a small smile. "You're a strange boy, Paul," she told him.

"I prefer the word special," he replied with a grin, then paused. "Is that a good or bad thing?" he asked anxiously.

She stopped, studied him for a moment. "I honestly don't know. I haven't offended you, have I?" she asked worriedly, and he hastened to reassure her.

"No! No, it's fine. I mean, I know I'm weird. God, that sounds bad. I mean..." But she was laughing again.

Billy wasn't home when they arrived back at the house; as she stood in the doorway, Paul gave Rachel a smile. "Well, I've walked you home. I'll leave you in peace." _Leave you in peace_ entailed going around to the back of the house and phasing, then guarding the window of her room in wolf form to make sure no harm came to her, but Rachel really didn't need to know that. "I'll probably be around quite a lot. The pack...uh, some of your brother's friends keep an eye on Billy. Seeing as he's an elder, and all that."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "God, I'd hoped to forget about all the tribal stuff. Dad takes it so _seriously, _you know?"

_Oh, you have no idea._ "I guess. I'll be around. Rachel?"

"Yes?"

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, wanted to tell her how much she meant to him and explain everything, but saying all that wouldn't really help her view of his sanity. After all, he'd practically begged to walk her home after setting eyes on her for barely a minute. Instead he just told her, "Take care," and turned to walk away.

It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, made worse by the fact that he could _feel_ her presence where she still hovered in the doorway behind him. He had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other when all he really wanted was to run back and hold onto her, because the distance between them _hurt._

"Paul?" Her voice called after him, making him spin around so quickly it made him dizzy. "Paul, would you...would you like to come in for a while?"

He practically bounded up to her – jeez, he sickened himself with how much he sounded like an overeager puppy – with a mile-wide grin. "I'd love to, if you're sure."

Rachel ducked her head so that the dark curtain of hair hid her face, nodded once. "Do you want a cup of coffee or anything?"

"I'll have whatever you are." Paul followed her into the kitchen, watched her with fascination as she moved about the room to make the two mugs of coffee. She really was very pretty, he thought with pride. Much more so than Jared's Kim. And she was older as well, finished school already which meant that she'd probably be around a lot more, too. Not to mention the fact that he'd be eternally grateful she wasn't two years old, like Claire. And she –

"What's the matter, Rachel?" Frantic, he crossed the room in one step to where she stood with her face in her hands. "What's wrong? Can I do anything, are you hurt? If you're hurt I'll take you to the hospital, Jacob's car is outside and I'm sure the keys are around here somewhere –"

"Paul, stop." Her voice cracked but he stopped as if she'd shouted. "I'm fine, honestly."

"What's wrong, then?" He dropped to his knees so that he could look up into her face, had to fight the urge to take her hands in his. "Rachel, please."

"It's just...this. All of it." She waved a hand wildly in a gesture which could indicate him, or the kitchen, or even the whole of the rez for its vagueness. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't _understand_. All I know is that I've just met you, and I don't want you to go away. It scares me, because I have no idea what's going on or what I'm going to do. You're _sixteen, _Paul."

"It doesn't matter. No, listen to me, Rachel." Her eyes met his, and for a moment he was speechlessly lost in them before gathering his senses together again. "This is...complicated. There's something going on that you don't know about, that I promise I'll explain. But you need to know that I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, I'm yours, for as long as you'll have me. Longer."

Her dark eyes held a thousand questions, but she simply nodded. "All right."

Paul waited. Surely she was going to freak out, panic, start screaming – but then she giggled, and he stared at her in wonderment.

"You're looking at me like you think I'm about to explode," she laughed. "I'm not. I know there's something weird here, but this is La Push." She bent over to place a hand on each of his cheeks. "I'm fine. But wow, you're hot. Are you feeling okay?"

"This is normal," he replied happily. Then, because he couldn't help it, one eyebrow quirked. "All the girls say I'm hot."

"Oh, really?" Rachel's face was very close to his as he still knelt on the floor, close enough that her hair fell around them like a screen.

"Yeah," he breathed. Her face came a fraction closer, noses barely an inch from each other. "Rachel, I –"

"Hey, Rachel, are you home?" A voice rang out from the front door, making Paul and Rachel jerk away from one another guiltily. "Are you here? I..." Leah came around the corner into the kitchen, stopping dead when she saw them there. "Paul? Paul, what the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading!  
**

**Remember to check out _wwwDOTtheindietwificawardsDOTcom_ and _twilightedteensblogDOTblogspotDOTcom_...and please leave me a review! xxx :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So here's chapter four! Hopefully I'll have time to update on time next week too *crosses fingers***

**Thanks for the reviews this week! But I'd love to hear from more of you...especially those who have this story on alert, because there's got to be _something_ you like about it enough to alert it, right? It means so much to me to know what you think, even if you dislike it. Helps me write longer, better chapters too...hint hint ;)**

**Ooh, and about Paul's age. Those of you who asked, thanks! But he really is about the same age of Jacob, it says so in New Moon. In addition, Rachel is 'a little more than a year' older than Bella, so she's around 19 here.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter and please review! Can we see if we can get it back up to the number we got on chapter one? because it's been dropping and that's fairly discouraging...**

**Anyway, enjoy xxx :)**

* * *

"_This is normal," he replied happily. Then, because he couldn't help it, one eyebrow quirked. "All the girls say I'm hot."_

"_Oh, really?" Rachel's face was very close to his as he still knelt on the floor, close enough that her hair fell around them like a screen._

"_Yeah," he breathed. Her face came a fraction closer, noses barely an inch from each other. "Rachel, I –"_

"_Hey, Rachel, are you home?" A voice rang out from the front door, making Paul and Rachel jerk away from one another guiltily. "Are you here? I..." Leah came around the corner into the kitchen, stopping dead when she saw them there. "Paul? Paul, what the hell are you doing here?"_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Four**

"You've got to be kidding me." Leah's voice was flat and unfriendly as Paul scrambled to his feet, positioned protectively ever so slightly in front of Rachel. "What the hell?"

"Leah, I –"

"Paul." Rachel's eyes flickered between them. "Are you...and Leah...?" There was hurt in her gaze which wrenched at Paul's heart.

"God, no!" he cried. "You think Leah...and me?"

"You don't have to look quite so revolted, Paul," Leah told him disgustedly. "But honestly, Rachel. Me and Paul? Be serious. Does he _look _like the kind of guy I'd –"

"Ha! Like you'd be so lucky," he shot back viciously. "Stop trying to be so high and mighty all the time, Leah, and someone might actually be stupid enough –"

The wolf-girl squared up to him, bristling as she interrupted acidly. "At least _I_ don't have temper-tantrums like a ten year-old girl when I don't get my way! You're such a –"

"All right, that's enough!" Rachel stood with hands on hips, glowering at them as if they were two argumentative children. Perhaps that wasn't too far wrong as Paul hung his head, instantly contrite in the face of her displeasure.

"Rachel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"You're not bloody serious." Leah was staring at him with absolute disbelief. "You didn't...oh, god, this is too rich!" Much to Paul's chagrin and Rachel's bewilderment she started chuckling in a way he hadn't seen her laugh since...well, since before Sam. "Jacob's sister! That's the biggest joke I've heard in forever!"

Paul could have killed her. No only had she come in at just that moment when Rachel's face had been so close to his, when it looked like she was about to kiss him and the entire world was practically sparkling, but she also had the nerve to start laughing at his imprint. Sure, he hadn't been exactly thrilled in that moment when he'd realised who Rachel was – the words _aw, crap _came to mind – but Leah of all people mocking him really took it one step too far. "I _know_ she's Jacob's sister, Leah," he snarled. "But it's not like I did it on purpose to irritate him. Even I'm not that sadistic. I mean, seriously..."

"It's still pretty damn funny," Leah laughed. "I can't wait to see Jake's face when he finds out that his _sister_ –"

"Um, hello, standing right here." Rachel was scowling, and it was all Paul could do to stop himself sweeping her up and kissing the lines on her forehead to make them go away. Then kissing her nose too, perhaps, to make her smile, and then the corners of her lips where they would curve slightly upwards –

"_Paul. _You're doing it again. Stop looking at me like that," she complained, but there was a happiness in her eyes which he knew instinctively to be an automatic response to the adoration of her mate. The thought only made him smile more widely.

"God, you two are gonna make me sick." Leah rolled her eyes mockingly, but Paul could sense the hurt underneath which she was trying to hide. Imprinting was still a sore point with her.

"We're not doing anything," Rachel jumped in guiltily. "We're not..." Her voice trailed off under Leah's disbelieving stare.

"Oh, really? Have you told Paul that?" She studied her friend a moment longer before letting out a strange noise, sort of half laugh and half snort. "Paul hasn't told you."

Rachel's gaze flickered immediately to Paul, a line marring her brow, and he could have killed Leah. "Told me what?"

"Yeah. Well...uh..."

"You haven't told _Rachel Black_ yet? You know, Billy's daughter? Jacob's sister? Oh, this is going to be _good_."

"Told me _what_?" Rachel asked again, more insistently and obviously irritated at being left out of the loop. "What's who I am got to do with anything?"

"I'll explain, I promise," he assured her. This really wasn't going as he'd planned. "Shut the hell up, Leah, it's none of your damn business."

"Actually, I think you'll find it is, Paul." Leah smiled sweetly, much to Rachel's confusion.

"I don't...Paul, did you just _growl_?"

"He did," Leah replied gleefully. "He's just one big, cuddly puppy, really."

"What the hell, Leah?" Paul roared, his all-too-short patience finally snapping. "You're always –"

"Paul, _stop it._" Rachel's command had him cutting the words off obediently, head hanging in shame at the reprimand. He was too argumentative, too short-tempered; how could she ever want somebody like him if she constantly had to tell him to control his temper? How could he ever be good enough for her? He was dragged from his misery by Leah's laughter.

"Oh, this is priceless!" She shrugged as Paul glowered, ducked out of reach just in case. "God, could you look any more like a kicked puppy? You're really not helping your case here, Paul. Just wait until the others find out..."

"You're not going to _tell _anyone, are you?" Rachel looked panicked. "Leah, I'm not sure...I mean, he's sixteen, and oh, God..." She buried her face in her hands. "This is so screwed up."

Paul's heart twisted at her despair, but he had no idea what to do. All of the others were always so self-assured with their mates, certain of what to do, so he'd never realised that imprinting left you just as clueless as with any other girl; it was worse, in fact, because this _mattered_ so much more. He wanted so badly to hug her – to wrap his arms around her and draw her close to him – but somehow didn't think that it would be a good idea, so instead he balled his hands into fists to stop himself reaching out. "Rachel, I'm sorry. Please don't worry, it'll be fine. Everything'll be okay, I promise." He shot a pleading glance towards Leah for help, Rachel suddenly far more important than his pride.

"Jesus, I think I liked you better before, Paul," Leah muttered darkly, too low for Rachel to hear. "Okay, Rachel? You need to calm down. It's fine. Well, okay, everything is majorly screwed up, but that's basically the way the rez works, in case you've forgotten. Paul, you need to tell her," she added, turning to the boy who was hovering anxiously over his mate.

"Tell me what?"

There was an agonised silence. Paul's eyes darted nervously between the two women, one bewildered and vulnerable while the other looked on with a gleeful smile. He wondered briefly why he'd been unlucky enough to have Leah of all people turn up, and took a deep breath before turning his back on her. This was going to be hard enough without her smug amusement; he was almost surprised that she didn't have a bowl of popcorn to hand as she watched the events play out in front of her. "I don't know how to say this," he began, dark eyes fixed on Rachel's and begging for understanding. "Not without you thinking I'm insane, anyway. It sounds pretty damn crazy."

"Just spit it out, Paul." He could see her patience waning as she stood, hands on hips, in the centre of her kitchen. The werewolf who had faced an army of newborn vampires swallowed nervously – this was more terrifying than fighting that red-headed leech's monstrous bloodsuckers. "This is ridiculous," she continued. "If you're not going to tell me what exactly is going on, I'm going out. Feel free to stay here; God knows you all waltz in anyway like you own the place."

"Rachel! Please!" Perhaps throwing himself in front of the door to prevent her leaving was a little extreme, and a vague part of him was aware as Leah snorted with amusement that it was something he'd have never, _never_ done before imprinting, but Paul did it anyway. "Don't leave," he pleaded. Somehow her walking out now seemed symbolic – if he allowed it to happen this first time, it would always go on. He couldn't stand the idea of her walking away from him.

She looked at him for a long moment. "I'm not going anywhere," she sighed at last, slumping down into a chair at the kitchen table. "But god, Paul...what's going on? I hate not knowing, I hate not understanding."

He dropped to his knees beside her chair, looked up into her eyes with a pleading expression. "I'll tell you," he replied. "But please don't get scared. Please don't freak out and run away from me."

Their eyes met, and held, and whatever Rachel saw in his gaze made her nod. "All right. I could be signing away my soul to the devil," she added with a laugh. "But...I'll listen. And I won't run away." Her voice lowered slightly, and she looked embarrassed at her admission. "I don't want to leave you."

What could Paul say to that? His hand reached out of its own accord to brush back a piece of hair which had fallen over her blushing face and tuck it behind her ear. Wide and wondering, her eyes studied his face so that he couldn't help but smile – hoping that she liked what she saw, because she was _his, _his mate and his imprint. Well, she would be if the next few moments didn't send her screaming.

Somebody cleared their throat loudly, startling Paul and Rachel from their little world and jerking them apart. This time, Paul wasn't the only one glaring daggers at Leah, and the realisation that Rachel was as annoyed at the girl as _he_ was gave him a little thrill. "Leah, do you think I could possibly talk to Paul on his own, please?" Rachel's tone was polite, but even Paul – who was never the _most _ observant when it came to others' emotions – could identify the underlying irritation colouring his mate's voice.

Leah rolled her eyes and rose to leave. "I won't be far," she assured her friend. "And if you need to talk to me, which you probably will, just call." She hesitated. "And Rachel? It's true. However unbelievable it may sound, it's true. Well, most of it; don't run off to Vegas with tantrum-boy here even if he tells you that he's going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight if you don't. God, I wish," she added in a mutter only Paul could hear.

He replied with a low growl.

"All right, I'm leaving." Leah was halfway to the door when both she and Paul froze; the boy's shoulders sagged suddenly in despair. It was just his luck. If he'd been anyone else, if Embry or any of the other members of the pack had imprinted on Rachel (the thought made him bristle) this would never have happened.

"What's the matter?" Rachel's concern for him – he liked to think it was solely for _him_, and not Leah too – only marginally helped.

"Billy's home," Leah replied cheerfully.

"How do you know?"

"Uh..." How to explain super-hearing when you hadn't even got around to the basic _werewolf_ part yet? "We heard the car. Good hearing."

"God." Rachel began to stand up, rolling her eyes. "Well, this is going to be awkward."

"Rachel." Paul caught her hand carefully in his, mindful of her gasp at the heat of his skin but unwilling to let her move even one step further. "I need to tell you –"

She turned to him expectantly, and the words blurted out before his mind could sensor them, soften them.

"I'm a werewolf."

* * *

**AN: Please, please leave me a review! Thanks for reading xxx :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Next chapter...**

**Massive thank you to my lovely reviewers – JuseaPeterson, mhgood, Ginaaaa and laurazuleta18. I'd have loved to hear from more of you, though!**

**In my quest for more reviews, I'm offering up a SPECIAL OUTTAKE to anybody who leaves me a message...yes, I'm shameless. Please let me know what you think of the story, characters, relationships...! **

**Ooh, also a shout out to my amazing XPARAWHOREXTWERDX who recommended this story on her blog teenfickicks(DOT)blogspot(DOT)com. She's an utterly brilliant author and person, and I love her. She's also Irish, which makes her awesome by default :) Also check out the podcast she does with another of my favourite TwiFriends, QUIRKYALICE, at ffourdirtylittlesecret(DOT)blogspot(DOT)com. They're fantastic! (I don't know the other two as well, but they're awesome by association lol)**

**And THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me in the TwilightedTeens contest! I palced third twice and second once, which is amazing!**

**Ahem. Very long author's note. It follows the pattern of the chapter, which is the longest yet! Hope you enjoy...**

**

* * *

**"_Rachel." Paul caught her hand carefully in his, mindful of her gasp at the heat of his skin but unwilling to let her move even one step further. "I need to tell you –"_

_She turned to him expectantly, and the words blurted out before his mind could sensor them, soften them._

"_I'm a werewolf."

* * *

_

**Chapter 5**

Rachel's eyebrow quirked in disbelief; the corners of her lips twitched, and she made as if to speak. But Paul could see in her eyes which held his unfalteringly the moment when realisation struck her. Her face paled – turned an odd shade of grey as she sank slowly back down, knuckles tightening until they were white on the chair arm.

"You're a...a werewolf?" Rachel's gaze turned helplessly to Leah, who apparently found the entire situation far more amusing than Paul liked. "Are you serious? All the stories are..." Her voice trailed off as she shook her head slowly, eyes darting between the two of them. "This had better not be some sort of sick joke. Tell me this isn't a hoax."

"It's true," Paul hastened to reassure her. "I swear."

"It really is," Leah confirmed. "And you haven't even heard the best part yet." Leah's _best part_ would have to wait, though, as Paul heard the footsteps on the drive, the squeak of Billy's wheelchair on the porch.

"What else is there?" Rachel asked weakly. She seemed unaware of her father's imminent arrival in the house.

"Well, there's this thing," Leah continued blithely, and Paul wanted to kill her. Phasing at this point, however, might well give Rachel a heart attack judging by the unhealthy pallor of her face, and besides Paul didn't want his potential future father-in-law to have any greater grievances with his lack of control. Instead, the boy settled for a threatening growl low enough for only Leah to hear, and which she happily ignored. "There's this thing called imprinting..."

"Leah, is that you?" Billy sounded startled. "Imprinting? You...you're talking to Rachel? Jesus Christ, is that even possible? Leah...?"

"God, _no_!" Paul and Leah shouted at the same time.

"Are you _kidding?_ Me and Rachel? My God, Billy..."

"Leah, please don't talk to Billy like that." Sue Clearwater stepped into the kitchen with a frown for her daughter, who rolled her eyes and in that one moment looked more like a sullen teenager than Paul had ever seen her. Teasing her about it, however, would have to wait until later, because Billy chose that moment to follow Sue into the room.

"Paul." There was relief in his tone which all too quickly gave way to consternation. "Paul. Have you...?"

Rachel sprung up, cheeks flaming red. The thought crossed Paul's mind that he now understood what Jacob found so appealing about Bella Swan's permanent state of embarrassment, closely followed by horror at the comparison and then – which was perhaps worst of all – the realisation that he _didn't care_.

"Uh...hi, Dad." Rachel was looking anywhere but at Paul. "Paul and Leah were actually just about to go –"

"Sit down, Rachel."

She sank back into her seat, pale-faced.

"You too, Paul."

He sat down in the remaining chair, trying not to show his fear. There was a short silence as the five of them stared at one another, not quite certain what to say; even Leah had run out of her collection of snarky comments, unless – which was perhaps more likely, Paul considered morosely – she was saving them up to taunt him with in front of the rest of the pack. Sue Clearwater was the first to break the silence.

"Well, it's been a pleasure seeing you all," she said with a little too much enthusiasm. "Rachel, lovely to have you home. You and Billy should come over for a meal sometime. Paul, do tell your mother I said hello." She gave him a knowing glance, and he knew that he'd been caught. Now he'd _have_ to tell his mom where he'd been.

"Sure thing, Mrs Clearwater."

"And keep an eye on that boy of mine, too. Come on, Leah. Let's leave them in peace."

"But –"

"_Leah._"

The threatening look the girl shot him _dared_ Paul to tease her about it later as Leah followed her mother obediently. He knew he wouldn't; there was far too much about this entire situation which he'd rather keep as quiet as was possible with the disadvantage of the pack mind to risk rousing Leah's wrath.

Paul and Rachel followed Billy into the living room of the little house as he wheeled his way through to see the Clearwaters out. The pair of them hovered nervously, shooting little glances at one another which met and had them both looking quickly away again, not sure what to say. A slight snort of amusement drew their gazes towards Leah, who was watching with an expression which Paul judged to be entirely too mocking. They blushed together in time for Billy to catch their matching expressions and sent them a pointed glare. _I'll deal with you both in a minute_, it said, and they both slid down guiltily onto the couch – a respectable distance apart – to wait for their fate.

As soon as Sue and Leah had left Rachel started to rise from the couch. "Look, Dad, it's not –"

"Rachel." Billy's grizzled eyebrows drew together into a frown which would have made anyone retreat, but Rachel merely folded her arms and sank back down with a sullen pout startlingly similar to Haley's. "Don't look at me like that, Rachel. I assume he's told you?"

The girl's dark eyes flashed to Paul. That little movement, the silent question as to how much she should tell her father, the implicit _trust_ in it, made Paul's heart swell as he smiled in return. "He knows everything," he assured her.

Both of Rachel's eyebrows shot upwards. "Oh, really?" She turned to face her father, who appeared to cringe. "Would you like to tell me exactlywhy I was left out of this loop?"

"Rachel, I –"

"No, really, Dad. I come home after college and only _now_ you tell me that all of the stories we were brought up on are true?" She was standing now, hands on hips as she towered over her father in his wheelchair. Paul couldn't help but admire her; her courage facing Billy, of all people, but above all he was pretty damn proud of the girl he'd imprinted on. Eyes flashing, chin set stubbornly in defiance, she was gorgeous.

"Oh, I know _you_ always believed them, but we thought they were metaphors or something like that! And now I find out that Paul's a werewolf..." her voice dropped suddenly, "a _werewolf!_ Paul is a werewolf! Did it never occur to you to let me know this before I came back here?"

His heart, so recently huge with the joy of imprinting and with _her_, suddenly stopped. Of course she was afraid of him. Of course she'd hate what he was – she'd left La Push, been to college in an attempt to escape everything here, everything she'd grown up around. How could he change that? Why should she want to stay here, just because of him? And yet he hoped – hell, how he hoped – that she would.

"I'm sorry –"

"Sorry? God, if you'd told me before I'd have come back far sooner. This makes La Push infinitely more interesting."

There was a long pause. Billy was staring at his daughter, mouth wide open in shock, and Paul was pretty sure his own face held the same expression. She liked the concept of werewolves in La Push?

"You...you're not scared by the thought? Don't think it's dangerous?"

Despite wanting to kill Billy (figuratively speaking, of course – there wasn't really much hope of reconciliation with a girl after you'd murdered her father) for bringing up the possible dangers, some part of Paul was grateful to him for voicing the questions. The werewolves made La Push a dangerous place, not to mention the leeches who turned up relatively regularly to cause trouble. Rachel was too important to be oblivious to the perils. Keeping them quiet wouldn't, contrary to Jake's beliefs, keep her safe, as demonstrated so marvellously by Charlie Swan's daughter. Jake was such an idiot.

"If Paul was all that dangerous, he'd have killed Leah shortly before you came in." Rachel's pretty lips curved upwards into a sly smile that almost made Paul's knees give out. "Besides, you wouldn't let Jake stay here if it was, would you?" The almost-smile that had been creeping onto Billy's face at her acceptance was abruptly wiped away. Noticing it, Rachel's voice rose. "Dad? Would you? _Dad?_"

The look of horror on his mate's face had Paul clearing his throat awkwardly. "Ah, actually...Jake's one of us."

Now the girl did sit back down again, legs weak and face pale once more. "Jake...Jakey's a werewolf?" It was a note of just how much he adored Rachel that Paul didn't burst out laughing at the concept of hulking werewolf Jacob Black being referred to as _Jakey_. "Dad, what the _hell?_"

"It's true." Billy shrugged. Paul noted, for future reference, that shrugging was a bad idea in the face of Rachel's fury, as it appeared to only fuel her anger and make her turn a rather interesting shade of red.

"_Jake_ is a werewolf too? How could you let this happen? How could you put him in danger of this happening? My baby brother, how _could_ you?" To Paul's enhanced hearing, the pitch was excruciating.

"It couldn't be helped, Rachel." Billy sounded almost pleading, his daughter's voice apparently as painful to his ears as it was to Paul's. "It was nobody's fault...well, no one here. It's something genetic."

"I..." She sat down suddenly, mouth gaping. "God, I can't believe it. I don't...I can't..." Her face was so pale that Paul began to panic, springing to his feet so that he was crouched in front of her.

"Would you like a drink? A glass of water? Rachel, are you all right?"

The boy's words roused her from her shock, dark eyes drawing back to focus as they centred on his face. "I'm fine, Paul." Smiling at his concern, she touched a hand to his cheek. "Just a little startled."

Their eyes held for an interminable moment, only disturbed when Billy cleared his throat loudly. "I'll get you a glass of water," he informed them loudly. As soon as his chair had squeaked its way from the room, Rachel dissolved into giggles which had grin leaping to Paul's lips in response.

"Well that was uncomfortable," she murmured. "Sit down, Paul, I'm not going to faint or anything."

He couldn't help but study her a moment longer to make sure she was telling the truth – that she really _was_ okay – before sitting back down on the couch beside her, much closer than before. His imprint shifted so that she was sat cross-legged on the cushion facing him. "Are you sure you've not got a fever? Your face is terribly warm."

"We always run at this temperature." With a burst of bravery, Paul picked up Rachel's hand to hold it between both of his own. "Always."

"Wow." A slight pause. "Jake too?"

He nodded. Although he didn't particularly want to spend this precious time with her talking about Jake, Paul was still happy to be sitting so close and to be able to study the face of the girl he hoped to spend the rest of his life loving.

"My God. This is...surreal. How many of you...?"

"Uh...I'm not sure right now. More keep changing, so there are quite a few of us. But we're protectors. We don't hurt people." His eyes begged her to understand.

Rachel nodded once. "I know that," she replied softly. "Paul, do you..." Her words trailed away as he waited expectantly for her question. "Paul, is this...when we met on the beach...everything. Is it to do with what you are? How I feel – is it to do with that?"

At a loss for words, Paul searched for the right thing to say. He was absolutely certain that imprinting wasn't the sole reason he loved her – how could he feel any other way? – but he still wasn't sure to explain it all to Rachel. To buy himself time, he lifted their conjoined hands to kiss her palm – and at the same moment the front door burst open.

"Paul! You're here, I've been looking everywhere for...oh." Jared stopped dead in the doorway, eyes wide as he stared at them. "Am I interrupting?"

"Uh..." Paul glowered at his friend furiously, and Billy chose that moment to reappear from the kitchen. He seemed to have entirely forgotten the glass of water he'd professed to be fetching.

"It's nearly eight, Paul. Isn't your mother expecting you?"

"Damn!" Paul leapt up like a fire had been lit under him. "Damn, damn, damn. I need to go. Rachel, I..." Her wounded brown gaze lifted to his made him stop dead in his tracks.

"You need to go," Billy told him roughly.

Unable to move, Paul remained with his eyes fixed on Rachel's. He heard Billy sigh.

"You can come back later. If," he added warningly, "and only _if_ your mother doesn't ground you. Is that clear?"

"Thanks, Billy!" In a rush, Paul darted forward to bump a clumsy kiss to Rachel's cheek. "I promise I'll be back later," he told her softly. "And I'll explain everything."

"You need to go!" Jared urged him.

As he rushed out of the door, Paul glanced back once to see Rachel. She was smiling after him, one hand pressed over the spot on her cheek where he'd kissed her.

**

* * *

AN: Please review! Remember...special outtake if you do! xxx :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Gah! I'm so, so sorry this is ridiculously late – I forgot when I last posted that I was going away on holiday for a week, and I also didn't know that there wouldn't be any internet access...**

**Thank you for all of the reviews I received for last chapter! Apparently the prospect of an outtake works – hope you enjoyed it! By the way, I will **_**not**_** be posting the outtake publicly – but I will continue to send it out to anyone who reviews chapter 5, no matter when (so even if this story is finished, I'll still do it...)**

**Anyway, here is the very late chapter 6. The next chapter is very nearly finished, so if I get a good number of reviews I'll update again tomorrow. So please, please review :)**

**

* * *

**"_You can come back later. If," he added warningly, "and only if your mother doesn't ground you. Is that clear?"_

"_Thanks, Billy!" In a rush, Paul darted forward to bump a clumsy kiss to Rachel's cheek. "I promise I'll be back later," he told her softly. "And I'll explain everything."_

"_You need to go!" Jared urged him._

_As he rushed out of the door, Paul glanced back once to see Rachel. She was smiling after him, one hand pressed over the spot on her cheek where he'd kissed her._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 6**

Paul could hear the clock in the kitchen chiming out the hour as he scrambled up to his house, fumbling to fasten the buttons on his shirt as he went. Not wanting to phase back into wolf form – he knew Jared would have told the others, and his exuberance could hardly be hidden – Paul had lost time by sprinting through the woods on only two feet to his hidden cache of clothes. Despite knowing that his mom would likely be furious at him for being out so long and missing dinner (his stomach gave a disgruntled grumble of agreement), Paul couldn't quite wipe the grin from his face.

He'd imprinted! And it was on Rachel, the most beautiful and amazing woman he'd ever met. Thank god his mate hadn't been any of the girls the others had imprinted on, because Rachel was obviously far superior. She was, and the thought made him preen slightly, a _college_ girl.

He was still smiling as he let himself through the front door, mood not even quashed by the ominous quiet emanating from the kitchen. Even Haley's usual chatter had been stilled, which didn't bode well for his chances of surviving their mother's wrath.

Just as Paul was considering his options (slink off to his room in the misguided hope she won't follow him? Run straight back out of the house and avoid the dragon altogether until tomorrow?) a small, serious-faced girl appeared at his elbow. "Hey, Hales," he greeted her sheepishly.

"You're late. Mommy's furious," she added with wide eyes.

He couldn't help but wince. If Haley – who was normally utterly oblivious to the moods of those around her unless they were yelling – was aware of their mom's anger, it had to be pretty bad. He was screwed. _Shit._

"You're so going to get it," she confirmed smugly.

It was a mark of just how happy he was that Haley's comment, which would usually have irritated him beyond all belief, only brought back his grin wider than ever. "Tell you a secret, Hales?" She nodded, dark eyes massively round, and he bent down to bring his face close to hers, voice lowered to a conspiratory whisper. "I met a girl today."

Amusement flared at the emotions flickering on his little sister's face; first excitement, then disgust and finally, overwhelmingly, curiosity.

"Really? What's her name? Where'd you meet her?" Haley's voice rose in excitement until Paul shushed her with an anxious glance towards the kitchen door, from which their mom had yet to emerge. "Is she pretty?" the little girl added in a whisper.

Rachel's face sprung into his mind, dark hair swirling freely as the wind had tugged at it on the beach. Paul could see her eyes fixed on his, the confusion and interest in their warmth as she'd bent closer to him; feel the touch of her hands on his cheeks still, and his own fingers lifted unconsciously to touch that spot in a movement which mimicked hers as he'd left. "She's beautiful," he told his sister reverently.

Haley scowled.

"She's as beautiful as you," Paul added quickly.

The storm clouds lifted from Haley's face with her smile. "Can I meet her?"

Paul hesitated. "Uh..."

He was saved from answering by the sudden arrival of his mother in the kitchen doorway. A small par of him was relieved at not having to answer Haley – he didn't want her to meet Rachel! Not yet, at any rate – but a much larger part shrunk back in the face of their mom's forbidding glare. Hands on hips, brows drawn darkly together, she pursed her lips with disapproval at Haley first.

"Go and sit back down at the table and finish your dinner, Haley. I never gave you permission to get down." The girl slunk guiltily back into the kitchen, sparing a pitying glance over her shoulder for her elder brother. She wasn't, however, sorry enough for him to attempt an intervention on his behalf – not that it would have done any good on their mother. Haley was a Daddy's girl through and through.

His mom closed the door behind Haley with deceptive care, her apparent calmness only serving to make Paul more nervous. The thought crossed his mind that he, while pretty much fearless in the face of leech-induced death, was in fact far more scared of his own mother. He wondered briefly if it was the same for the rest of the pack, but knew he'd never dare to bring it up.

"Would you like to tell me exactly where you've been?" Her voice was mild – pleasant, even. It worried him.

"Well...uh..." Paul scuffed his bare feet on the carpet, glanced up at the ceiling as if for inspiration. The paint-induced swirls of whiteness offered no help. "I went to Jared's. But he wasn't there. So I headed to Billy's...he says hi, by the way...and I saw Sam, who...uh...said Jared might be down on the beach with Kim. So, uh, I went..." Paul made the mistake of looking up, found his mom watching him with folded arms and raised eyebrows.

"Please, go on. I'm dying to hear what happened next."

Paul swallowed. "So I...uh, at the beach I ran into Rachel Black." Just the though of her had his shoulders relaxing, a smile softening his face. "I walked her home, and we bumped into Leah and Sue – she says hi too."

"How kind of her." His mom's expression didn't change.

"Yeah..." Paul studied the floor. "I guess."

"Does any of this explain why you're so late, and why you appear to have lost your shoes – again, might I add? And why, exactly," she added with rising ire, "your shirt is buttoned up all wrong?"

He glanced down at himself. _Aw, hell._

"You're sixteen years old, Paul." Her voice shook with fury. "I've had calls from school about you missing days at a time, your grades have slipped and God – _God_ – there are times when I have no idea where you are! I know you've been sneaking out of the house at night. What the hell is wrong with you, Paul?"

"It's not what you think," he replied instantly. How could it be? He doubted it was ever a mother's first worry that her son was a werewolf, after all.

"And what exactly am I supposed to think it is, that you're not doing?" she replied coldly.

Oops. Perhaps he should have anticipated that. "I don't know." He tried not to let the frustration he felt colour his tone, knowing (from long experience) that it would only infuriate her further. "Drugs, alcohol...gang warfare? Hell, I don't know, Mom!" Having said that, gang warfare probably cut a little closer to the truth than he had intended. The boy hoped fervently that the guilt didn't show on his face.

"So what _are_ you doing, Paul?"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I hang out. With the guys, mostly, and Leah. We don't do...we don't get into trouble, Mom," he corrected himself quickly. He'd been so close to saying that they didn't do anything dangerous, but even he wasn't comfortable with the extent to which _that_ lie ran.

She studied him for a long moment, eyes fixed unwaveringly on his. "I don't know," she sighed at last. All of the anger had dropped abruptly away, and she seemed instead very tired. "It seems a little too much like a gang for my liking."

"We're more like...boy scouts." Paul winced, knew that the others would rag on his for that for ages once they lifted it from his mind. "We got out...uh, camping, with the younger kids like Seth and Brady and Collin. Outdoor stuff." Something occurred to him, and he offered it up eagerly. "Billy's like our leader, he knows what we're doing." The thought of Billy had his mind leaping back to Rachel, and he had to resist the urge to look anxiously up at the clock to see how many minutes he'd been gone. It had been, in his opinion, entirely too long already.

"Hmm." As if trying to work out how much of his words to believe, Paul's mom studied him a while longer. "Maybe you could take your sister out sometime, too."

"God, no!" Now that concept was more terrifying than his mother and the leeches put together. "She's a girl."

"So's Leah," his mom countered.

"Leah hardly counts as a girl," he scoffed.

"Right." She lifted both eyebrows at him.

"So...yeah. I was wondering, if, maybe, I..."

"You want to go out again tonight." He decided it was wiser not to reply, but the silence must have told his mom all she needed to hear because she gave a sigh. "I'll think about it, Paul. But there are things we need to discuss with your father when he gets back from Seattle this weekend. Does that seem fair?"

"That's great, mom."

She nodded once, but didn't smile. "There's some pasta keeping warm for you in the oven. Next time you're late, it's going straight in the trash."

As she turned towards the back room, Paul glanced briefly up at the ceiling for courage. "Sorry, Mom," he managed. Her look of surprise made him wonder just how long it had been since he'd given her a genuine apology, but then he stopped when the thought made him feel guilty. Not since he'd phased, at least. Jeez, he'd been an ass. And why was he only now realising it?

Oh, right. Imprinting. The others hadn't told him that it made you entirely reassess yourself, in case there was anything your mate wouldn't like about you. Paul was fairly certain that he'd have to get his anger in check – stop acting so much like a teenager, because his age was a complaint anyway for Rachel. She probably wouldn't like it if he got into any more fights with Jake, either – if he ever came back – which was a shame but he was willing to make the sacrifice.

God. He was grinning like an idiot again. Just standing there by himself in the hallway, with a massive smile plastered across his face. He'd have to stop that, too, or she'd think he was creepy.

With Rachel in the forefront of his mind, Paul hurried into the kitchen, pulling the cooling plate from the oven and shovelling the food down as quickly as possible. The faster he ate, the sooner he could get back to the Blacks'...if his mom let him, of course. If she didn't, he'd have to wait until she was asleep before sneaking out.

"Are you grounded?" Paul had been so intent on hurrying through his meal so he could return to Rachel that he'd barely noticed his sister still sitting at the table, pushing pasta around her plate with a fork. The boy swallowed a huge mouthful before replying.

"I don't think so."

He stifled a laugh as he watched her struggle between disappointment and relief. Unable to make up her mind, his sister settled for a shrug. "Oh."

"Yeah." Paul took a slightly smaller bite, knowing that Haley was probably gearing up to ask another question.

"Where are you going?"

"To see Rachel." There was the soppy grin again. Even Haley noticed, because she shot him a scathing look.

"Why are you smiling like that? Is she your girlfriend?" Then, for extra measure, "You look really stupid."

Paul tried, and failed, to compose his features into some semblance of sobriety. "Thanks. And Rachel's not exactly my girlfriend." If he wanted to have any chance of her being so at all – and he really, _really_ did – he had to get over to see her pronto and explain himself. The boy managed to finish the rest of his meal in two mouthfuls. "Are you going to eat that, Hales?" She shook her head, handed the cold pasta over.

"You get to wash _and_ dry the dishes for it."

"Whatever." He did so in record time. "I'll see you later, Hales. Love you." She shrieked as he ruffled her hair with one hand as he passed, but obviously wasn't too mad because the noise didn't quite hit supersonic.

His mom glanced up from the paper at him as he entered, stood awkwardly trying to find a way to ask if she'd made up her mind about punishing him yet. "Was that Haley just screaming?"

"I might've messed up her hair a bit." Paul wondered if that was a grounding offence; was relieved when their mom just rolled her eyes.

"Where are you going?"

He shuffled his feet, looked anywhere but at her. "I was, uh, wondering if I could maybe...head over to the Blacks'?" The last phrase came out in a rush, and he found himself squirming under his mom's knowing gaze.

"The daughter's back, isn't she? What's her name again?"

"Rachel." That damned smile flooded across his face once more.

"Hmm." Then she sighed. "Don't make too much noise when you come in."

_Awesome!_ "Love you, Mom!" He planted a hurried but exuberant kiss on her forehead as he ran out, was rewarded with a slight laugh from behind him. The front door slammed, and he was racing over to see _her_.

The front door of the little house was flung open as he approached, Rachel framed in the doorway. She didn't say a word as he stood before her, but the hand that she reached out to him closed tightly around his fingers and held as if she never wanted to let go. Paul melted – actually _melted – _and the brief thought crossed his mind that he'd turned into a total pansy. But he didn't care.

"Is it too soon to admit that I missed you?" he murmured.

When she shook her head silently, his heart gave a leap, and he found himself smiling.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Paul and Rachel finally get to talk next chapter – which will be up tomorrow if I get enough reviews, if not it'll be next week xxx :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Oops...I nearly forgot to update. In my defence, it's the holidays and I'm not entirely sure what day it is most of the time as I don't have a job atm. But whatever ;)**

**And ooh! Exciting...I went to the cinema (HP6 is AMAZING, btw) and had a little fangirl moment on my boyfriend when the New Moon trailer came on! He was remarkably understanding, as he's never ****(refuses to)**** read the books, but...it was a pretty awesome trailer. On the big screen, Jake...shirtless... *drools***

**I'm also working on an outtake right now - anybody who reviews this chapter will be sent it! Like I said before, that stands no matter when the review is sent, for example after I've finished the story altogether. Let me know if there are any characters you'd like to hear from at any point, and I'll see if I can work in one of them in an outtake :)**

**Enjoy chapter 7! xxx :)  
**

* * *

_The front door of the little house was flung open as he approached, Rachel framed in the doorway. She didn't say a word as he stood before her, but the hand that she reached out to him closed tightly around his fingers and held as if she never wanted to let go.__ Paul melted – actually melted – and the brief thought crossed his mind that he'd turned into a total pansy. But he didn't care._

"_Is it too soon to admit that I missed you?" he murmured._

_When she shook her head silently, his heart gave a leap, and he found himself smiling._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 7**

Billy looked up from the television as Rachel and Paul came in. For a split second there was something in his face which told the boy that Rachel's father was perhaps not quite as pleased with the situation as his daughter appeared to be.

"Paul," he greeted curtly. Then, after a slight pause, "Your mom didn't ground you?"

The not-so-subtly veiled reminder of the boy's age had him cringing, but before he could think of any reply Rachel's face had drawn into a glower directed at her father. "Stop it, Dad," she warned him. "Don't do that, or God help me..."

Paul was utterly astonished to see Billy – _Billy Black_ – hang his head in contrition. "Sorry, Rachel," he mumbled.

"Dad..." she scolded him.

"Sorry, Paul," he added, but there was a slight note of resentment to his voice.

It wasn't until Rachel elbowed _him _in the ribs that Paul was able to close his mouth, swallow, and croak out a brief, "It's okay." His respect for the woman he hoped to spend the rest of his life with suddenly soared, but with it came a simultaneous wave of fear. That melted away a little, however, as Rachel beamed at him, and his heart swelled with the knowledge that she was proud of him.

God, he was pathetic. He'd thought it was just the other guys who'd turned into pansies when they met their mates, but it was quickly becoming apparent that he was just as bad. For the second time in not very long at all, he realised morosely that the other wolves were going to give him hell.

"Paul and I need to talk some things through," Rachel continued, her voice cutting through the gloom of Paul's thoughts. "Will you be okay, Dad?"

"Of course I'll be all right," Billy replied gruffly. "You're not going anywhere anyway, are you?" It took Paul a moment to work out that he was sulking, and when he did it was all he could do not to let his jaw drop open in shock once more. The Quileute leader of La Push did not _sulk_; and yet, somehow, there was something about his daughter which brought out a side of him which Paul had never seen before. It was unnerving.

Rachel shrugged. "I was just thinking we might step outside and talk about things."

"It's raining," Billy pointed out.

Paul watched the exchange between father and daughter with silent fascination. He had a feeling that Jacob was going to get one hell of a shock when he came back; the sister in his memories which had leaked out to the pack had been of a quiet, reserved girl suffering from a massive lack of confidence following their mother's death – one who preferred to spend time with her twin rather than involve herself with the concerns of her father or baby brother. Paul couldn't wait to see Jake's reaction to be bossed around by the sister who stood a full foot shorter than him.

"Paul, we can go out to Jake's garage to talk," Rachel told him firmly. "It'll be dry there."

He followed obediently.

A fine film of dust lay over every surface in the shed, dulling the once shiny tools which were Jake's pride and joy and lending to the air of abandonment. The air smelt, to Paul's sensitised nose, of old oil and rust, with Jake's scent permeating everything and an undertone of something slightly flowery – or was it fruity? – which he remembered was the smell of the leech-girl who used to visit. Now, however, Rachel was leaving traces of herself as she moved quietly around the shack, trailing her fingers to draw lines through the dust and unwittingly spreading her own scent.

Paul stood absolutely still, happily breathing in her smell as she wandered around him, acutely aware of her presence even when he couldn't see her by some curious sense which allowed him to _feel_ where she was even more accurately than the sound of her soft footsteps above the gentle plinkof raindrops on the roof.

"What do you think?" the girl asked unexpectedly.

"You smell nice," he blurted without thinking.

Rachel's laugh was sudden, bubbling up with an infectiousness that had him grinning. "I meant about this, the situation, about all of it. But thanks." She was still smiling as he turned to face her, cheeks flushed slightly pink with pleasure.

"I don't need to think," he told her honestly. "It _is._ Nothing that I say or think will change it."

"Do you not want it then?"

"No! God, no. I want this. Everything I am...this _is_ everything."

Rachel looked up at him with bewildered, vulnerable eyes. "This is massive, Paul," she told him with quiet seriousness. "This is...god, I don't know what it is. But I know that I want to be here, that I want to have...whatever this is. Dad said...I don't know. I don't understand this at all!" she cried with frustration.

It felt entirely natural to close the distance between them with a step, to wrap his arms around her and hold her slender form to him. "It's okay," Paul reassured her. Then, after a slight pause, "You're shaking! Are you cold?"

Her laugh was throaty, hoarse. "Not at all," Rachel replied. "Just...God, Paul, what is this?"

The boy took her hand, led her to a rickety bench standing against one wall and cleared it for her to sit. Rather than risking his weight on its wonky legs, he crouched down beside her, reluctantly dropping her hand. "How much did Billy tell you?"

Rachel reached across the aching space between them to lay her palm on his cheek, as if she too was feeling the lack of contact agonising. "You're a werewolf."

"Yes."

"Right." She drew in a long, shaky breath. "Wow."

"You're not scared?"

Her answer came immediately, without any hesitation. "No."

There was a long pause in which Paul struggled not to ask the question, but it slipped out anyway. "Why _not_?"

Rachel laughed then. "How could I be afraid of you?" she asked. "The way you look – speak – act – everything about you. You're...I trust you," she managed to finish at last, smiled at him as she spoke with such joy that Paul was almost certain that his heart would explode.

"You're amazing," he breathed.

She flushed rosy red under her tan with pleased embarrassment, leaned a little closer. "I like you, Paul," she admitted softly. "And God, that sounds so awkward and...and high school..." Their faces were only inches apart.

"You forget, I'm _in_ high school," Paul grinned.

Rachel groaned, leaned infinitesimally closer to rest her forehead against his. "You had to remind me."

"It doesn't matter." He hesitated, then plucked up the courage to frame her face with his hands. She looked so small, so fragile between his massive fingers. "What did your Dad say about us?"

"Us as in you and me, or us as the pack?" Paul could feel the smile curving her cheeks under his hands, felt his heartbeat quicken. The concept of _you and me_ had his heart pounding so loudly he was sure Rachel would be able to hear it, but he didn't care.

"Well, I know Billy isn't too impressed with _you and me_," he replied. "And much as I'd love to talk about that, I did mean the pack."

"Right." She took a deep breath, moved back slightly so there was a larger gap between them. "I can't think clearly with you so close."

If it was even possible, Paul's grin widened.

"Stop that," she scolding him teasingly. "It's nothing personal. You smell good." He lifted one disbelieving eyebrow, and she looked down, flushing. "All right, maybe it is about you. A little bit." She held up her thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart, but she was laughing. "He didn't say much, really. Just reiterated the legends, that there was a pack because the gene came out dominant in this generation. Seriously, a pack?" she added curiously.

"There are a few of us. We like to think of ourselves as Protectors."

"Protectors from what?"

Paul winced. He hadn't wanted to go into all of this; the werewolves were unbelievable enough without tossing vampires on top of that. "There's, ah, something which prompts the transformation. When it's not around, we're entirely normal – like your Dad. But when it's here...well, you get me and Jake and the others."

"And this thing is...?"

Maybe if he said it quietly enough she'd skip right past it. "Vampires," he muttered.

Or not. Rachel burst out laughing – only to stop when she realised he wasn't smiling. "Oh, God. You're serious, aren't you?" Her face paled.

"You don't need to worry!" Panicked at her fear, Paul shuffled forward and took each of her hands in his own. "They don't come around that often – well, not until recently – and there are enough of us that it's fine. You're safe. I'd never let anything happen to you," he added confidently. Even the thought of Rachel being hurt sent a chill up his spine.

"But you...and Jake..." Her voice trailed away as she swallowed, fingers gripping his more tightly.

"We're a lot more dangerous than you seem to think, Rachel." She shook her head, eyes huge, and he insisted, "We _are._ Didn't Billy say anything?" Her slight hesitation told him all he needed to know. "The way this works – it's based on mood. We phase if we get really, really mad, and we can't stop it, so if you're anywhere near...do you understand?"

She nodded slowly. "But you wouldn't –"

"Rachel. We might not mean to. Hell, we'd rather hurt _ourselves_ than you. But that wouldn't stop it if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She shook her head stubbornly. "I don't see –"

He cut her off, frustrated with her refusal to understand. "Have you met Emily Young?"

"Oh, the girl who was attacked by the bear? She's..."

Paul just looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

The penny dropped, and for the first time a flash of real fear flickered through Rachel's dark eyes. "That was..._you_?"

"No! Not _me_. But it was Sam, he got mad and phased and she was too close..." Paul couldn't say any more, because Sam's pain was his own and it _hurt_. "He's her fiancé, Rachel. Absolutely in love with her. He'd do anything for her, but he couldn't stop that. Do you see now?" he added gently.

For a long moment she didn't look at him, couldn't meet his eyes, and his heart sunk. What if she didn't like him any more? If she didn't want anything to do with him? What would he _do_? Defeated, Paul sunk back on his haunches so that he was sitting on the floor at her feet, head bowed in an unconscious mimic of hers.

"I understand," Rachel whispered at last.

Paul looked up then, reached out to lift her chin with one finger so that their eyes met. "You needed to know," he told her quietly. "You have to know what this is – what I am."

The girl nodded slowly. "You're far more mature than I gave you credit for," she murmured.

The oh-so-mature boy had to try _very_ hard to resist the urge to jump up and down with joy. As it was, his mind was chanting happily, _Rachel thinks I'm mature! She thinks I'm mature!_

"Thank you," he said instead, grinning.

"I shouldn't have said that, should I?" Rachel laughed. Her face abruptly sobered. "This is so much to take in. It's...everything is different. Things I never believed, never thought were possible....but God. It's real, isn't it? It's all real?"

"It's real." Paul was aware that his own voice was hollow, wistful. He wondered if he'd known, if he's had the choice, would he have chosen this or not? Would he have been happy to be normal, or would he have still wanted this? What would he have done?

"I'm sorry." Rachel's voice was soft. "For whatever's making you sad...my God, I hate this. I hate seeing you hurt. Is it crazy that I feel like this already?" Her tone was wondering and somehow simultaneously fearful.

Paul took a deep breath. He had to tell her the rest of it – had to tell her how she was involved in this strange world. "There's this...thing," he began lamely. "Imprinting."

"That's what Leah was talking about," Rachel remembered. Her dark eyes were massive and strangely childlike.

"Yeah. It's..." Paul struggled to find words. "It's like love at first sight, but stronger. Like gravity. Your imprint is the person who's the other half of your soul, and you'll spend your whole life being what they need. An imprint is...everything."

Rachel didn't say anything.

"It's like they're the centre of the universe, and everything revolves around them. Like you'd do anything to make them happy, because as long as they are everything is fine. When you see them, it's like you've been struck by lightning and the whole world has stopped. Like –"

She cut him off with clouded, troubled eyes. "What does this have to do with me?" she asked quietly, but he could tell that she already knew.

He didn't reply for a long time. Their eyes met, and held, but neither spoke. Really, what was there to say? Finally, Rachel rose and did them both a favour by crawling right into Paul's lap to close the aching distance between them. His arms came up around to cradle her against his chest, head leaning against his shoulder close enough that he could breathe in the pretty scent of her hair, feel her words on his skin as she spoke.

"I don't quite know what to say. But I know this: I like you, Paul. And even if I don't understand completely yet, I will. I'll try. Because...I don't want you to go."

"I'll always be here," he promised.

* * *

**AN: Please review! Remember, there's an outtake... xxx :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I know, I know, it's not Sunday. I had every intention of posting yesterday, but then RL decided to throw friends and surprise parties and shopping and meals out at me...it's a hard life, isn't it?**

**Anyway, thank you so incredibly much for the awesome response to last chapter! I was amazed and so grateful *wipes away tears* so...yeah. It made me feel all snuggly and warm. And I grinned so much every time I got one.**

**I'm glad you seemed to enjoy the outtake too! I love hearing from you...again, that's still available to anybody who reviews chapter 7. And I'm going to be writing one for this chapter too! Let me know if you want to hear from anyone in particular, and I'll see if I can work it in.**

**Hope you like chapter 8! xxx :)**

**

* * *

**_He didn't reply for a long time. Their eyes met, and held, but neither spoke. Really, what was there to say? Finally, Rachel rose and did them both a favour by crawling right into Paul's lap to close the aching distance between them. His arms came up around to cradle her against his chest, head leaning against his shoulder close enough that he could breathe in the pretty scent of her hair, feel her words on his skin as she spoke._

"_I don't quite know what to say. But I know this: I like you, Paul. And even if I don't understand completely yet, I will. I'll try. Because...I don't want you to go."_

"_I'll always be here," he promised._

_

* * *

_**Chapter 8**

The rain continued to fall as the sky darkened outside. It beat hollowly on the roof of Jacob's shed, seeped through the crack in the corner to fall into the bucket placed underneath the leak. The _drip...drip_ seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet of the little shack as Paul and Rachel sat side by side with their backs against the furthest wall.

The woman was snuggled tightly into Paul's side, her head resting against his chest and both his arms wrapped around her; Rachel's fingers were tracing sleepy circles on his chest over his heart. Neither spoke, caught up instead in the simple sensation of the other's closeness, in the drowsy peace which held them both in quiet happiness. Paul was perfectly content, for once, in the stillness – the warm, soft body cradled against his own made him smile, an expression which hadn't left his lips since Rachel had first crawled into his arms.

He could feel her heart beating, and that flutter of movement had become his world.

The wince sprung to his face unbidden. Wow, he was turning into a sap. Paul wondered absently how long he'd be able to go without phasing; it was easier to avoid the guys in human form. There was also the additional problem of Jacob's presence in the pack mind, because it was inevitable that as soon as he phased some little thought about Rachel – who was he kidding, everything he was thinking revolved around her right now – would slip through and Jacob would find out. He probably already knew, Paul realized with a jolt, and his face paled. Crap.

"What's the matter?" Rachel twisted in his arms so that she could look up into his face, and Paul shuffled guiltily as her chest brushed against his. This was Jacob's sister! He was going to kill Paul.

"Uh...nothing," he hedged.

"I don't believe you." The girl pouted – god, that only brought his attention to her mouth, and he glanced away, swallowing. "Tell me what's wrong, Paul," Rachel commanded more seriously.

How could he refuse to tell her anything? She was his _mate_. "Well...I was just thinking..." His voice trailed off.

"About...?"

"Jake." The word left his mouth in a rush, as if saying it quickly would make it less painful – a bit like ripping off a band-aid. The thought of bandages, and the possibility of needing them at some point very near in the future, made Paul gulp.

"Jake." The corners of Rachel's mouth turned down as she repeated her brother's name. "Crap."

"Pretty much what I was thinking," he admitted, lowering his head to brush a kiss into her sweet-smelling hair.

"Hmm. I think I can imagine why."

The silence stood between them for a long moment. Paul didn't move, if anything held Rachel even closer; if Jake was going to pick a fight with him over this, and there was no way he wasn't going to pick out the memory from Paul's mind, he might as well enjoy the moment while it lasted.

Rachel broke the quiet first, her fingers tracing absent-minded circles on his chest in a way that tortured him even as he hoped that she'd never stop. "So this...imprinting. Is it just you and me, or has...?"

"It's not just you and me." The grin leapt to his lips unbidden at the implication of the pair of them as a couple, but Paul refrained from commenting. "Sam was the first, but Jared and Quil have too. Jake hasn't," he added, knowing that it would be the next question she would ask. Rachel nodded slowly.

"Sam...his fiancée, Emily? She's the one..."

"Yes." A shadow darkened the boy's face for a moment. "That was complicated, because of Leah. He couldn't help it though, and she understands now...but it's still difficult."

A minute frown wrinkled Rachel's brow, and Paul had to fight the peculiar urge to kiss it away. "So who imprinted on Leah?"

Paul blanched, froze. "Nobody's imprinted on Leah, Rachel," he told her gently.

"But if she knows about the werewolves...how can she understand something like imprinting, unless it's happened to her?"

The thrill of Rachel's acceptance of herself as an imprintee (was that even the right word? Maybe not) was dampened by the necessity of explaining her friend's situation. It was always Leah, Paul decided glumly, who managed to ruin things – even, apparently, when she wasn't there. Having her in the pack was such a pain.

"Ah, Leah's situation is a little...different," Paul began. "She hasn't been imprinted on, or imprinted, but she knows what's going on..." His voice trailed off, but Rachel continued watching him expectantly. With a sigh, he finished in a rush. "Leah's a werewolf too."

"You're _shitting _me."

Paul burst out laughing at her wide-eyed disbelief. "I'm utterly serious."

"No freaking way..." Rachel breathed. "Well actually, I can see it. I really can. I can honestly see Leah as some sort of...well, like Catwoman. Wolfwoman, then," she decided.

Paul winced through his laughter. "It's not quite like that," he explained. "It's a lot...well, much less glamorous, for one thing."

"Pity." She eyed him slyly. "Leah would look amazing in leather."

_That_ image flashed through his mind faster than lightning, but it was enough to make Paul wince again. "God, no," he shuddered.

"Not even the slightest desire to see that? No fantasies whatsoever?" Rachel elbowed him lightly in the stomach, but the boy barely felt it.

"No way in hell," he replied vehemently. "Not even a little. I've already seen way more of Leah than I ever, ever wanted to." Paul hadn't quite anticipated the dangerous narrowing of Rachel's eyes, the way she pushed herself away from him to create a solid space between them. He wondered whether many girls found it offensive that the boy whose lap they were currently sitting on didn't want to consider their friend in a leather catsuit. It had never been a problem with any of the girls he'd previously known – hell, it wasn't exactly a topic which had come up before.

"Explain that, please. The bit where you were telling me just _exactly_ how much of Leah you've seen."

"What? Oh! _Oh._" Suddenly understanding, Paul flushed a violent shade of red. "Not like _that_, Rachel. Jeez. _Jesus_. What I meant was, is that this whole werewolf thing? Phasing isn't like...God, I don't know. But basically, when your whole body changes shape, the clothes you were wearing? Totally toasted. So, uh...at the other end, when you're going back the other way, you're sort of, uh, not wearing any clothes..."

Reaching out a hand, Rachel stopped the babble of his words with one finger resting over his lips. "I get it, Paul." She shot him a suddenly arch look, quirking one eyebrow. "Naked? Really?"

"Uh-huh." He shrugged helplessly, painfully aware that his cheeks were flaming as Rachel rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"God, you're such a teenage boy. It's not _that_ big a thing."

It was Paul's turn to lift both eyebrows. "Oh, really? And how exactly do you know just how big a thing it is or not?"

The woman's answering smile was suddenly radiant. "I think I like you, little boy," she teased.

"Oh, you think so, do you?" His face grew suddenly sober. "Do I really seem that much of a child to you?" he asked quietly.

Rachel hesitated, and in that moment his heart sunk.

"I'm sorry," Paul interjected quickly. "You don't have to...I mean, I didn't –"

"No." Her eyes lifted to meet his, and he saw the sincerity and bewilderment in them as she leant a fraction closer to him. "No, you don't. And I think that's part of the problem."

His heart skipped a beat as he bent towards her a little too. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I _don't_ think of you as a child. That's what's making this all so confusing." She was close enough, now, that he could feel the warm rush of her breath on his cheek, see every eyelash as her gaze darted nervously across his face – _eyelashes? Jeez, what the hell was he looking at her eyelashes for?_ – close enough that if he leant forward just...like...this....

Their lips brushed softly together once, twice – Paul was too deliriously happy to even consider anything else – before Rachel's hands came up to his cheeks and her mouth attacked his with more force, filling all of his senses so that she was the only thing he could see, smell, taste, and she was everything –

Which was perhaps the reason why he didn't realize anybody else had entered the shed until a rough pair of hands seized him, flinging Paul angrily away from Rachel so that the boy flew across the shack and outside into the torrential rain. He landed against a tree with a crash that could probably have been heard all the way over in Forks, which was however nothing compared to the ear-splitting, blood-curdling scream that issued from the little garage Paul had been so rudely ejected from. Scrambling upright entirely uninjured – which was, unfortunately, far more than could be said for the poor tree which had broken his fall – he charged straight back forward, only to stop dead in the entrance at the peculiar sight within.

Jacob Black – stark naked and soaked from head to toe – was holding his sister at arm's length, face an absolute picture as various emotions flickered over it in quick succession; anger battled with bafflement and amusement as Rachel, practically vibrating with rage, railed at him furiously.

"Let _go_ of me, Jake! Damn idiot, what the hell do you think you're doing? If you've killed him I'll –"

"You _imbecile,_ Jake. What the hell, dude? Seriously?"

Brother and sister turned as one to face him, absolute opposites in appearance but so similar in expression as both pairs of dark eyes blazed with anger. "Paul! My God, I thought he'd killed you – _let go of me, Jake_!"

"Hell no, I'm not letting you anywhere near him."

Paul found himself momentarily forgotten as Rachel's eyes narrowed even further, rounding on her brother with a temper which the observing boy was surprised to note could potentially rival Haley's. "Won't let? _Won't let?_ Are you freaking serious? Who the hell are you to tell me what I can or can't do? I'm your older sister, Jake, and you're the irresponsible, immature little boy who ran off because he couldn't deal with the big bad world! You have _no right_ –"

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Jacob roared over her. "You don't –"

"I think I know one hell of a lot more than you think. I know that you went missing for weeks, came back and tried to cause a fight at a wedding – a _wedding, _Jake? Really? – and then vanished again and left our father all alone when you _know_ he –"

"It's none of your business what I do! Where have you been these last few years when I've been the one at home looking after Dad by himself? And yet I still come back when I hear about you and –"

"Cry me a fricking river, Jake. Don't try and pull out the martyr card on me, you knowvery well that –"

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Because if I remember right, I just walked in on you sucking face with a sixteen year-old who's –"

"_Shut the hell up_!"

"You know what, Rach? I'm not going to. You're – "

"She said _shut up_!" Paul's shout managed to at least create a lull as they both turned to stare at him, each breathing heavily as if they'd run a race and faces red with anger. He was sure that they could have gone on yelling a bit longer, but enough was enough. Paul had thought he and Haley were pretty bad arguing, but now he could see that they were nothing in comparison to the screaming skills of Rachel and Jake. No wonder their sister had moved to Hawaii, or wherever the hell it was she'd gone.

Having drawn the attention to himself, it was Paul's turn to feel the full brunt of Jake's wrath. "You stay the _hell_ out of this, Paul! That's my sister you just had your filthy lips all over!"

"She's my imprint!" he roared in return.

There was a buzzing in his ears like a furious swarm of hornets, but the two boys stood squared up to one another, each refusing to back down with eyes as hard as rock. Rachel was saying something, but neither heard her; all of Paul's concentration was fixed on Jake, who was trembling violently.

"The hell she is," Jake growled.

"Screw you, Jake! It's not up to you. We're going to do whatever the hell we want." He saw it in the other's eyes even before Jake leapt at him, teeth bared in a snarl and outline blurring as he flew through the air, but didn't have time to so much as kick off his shoes before they landed together with a deafening crash against the workbench and the wall, both of which gave way under their bodies with as little resistance as paper. Rachel's scream rent the air, but the two wolves paid no heed.

_Are the pair of you completely stupid? _Sam's mind was livid. _Stop!_

The order cracked out so sharply that they both froze, Paul half underneath Jake and with their teeth at one another's throats. _She's my sister,_ Jake growled.

_Tough bloody luck. He's imprinted on her now, so you'll have to deal with it._

_Congrats, Paul._ Jared's grin came through even in his thoughts, and Paul was grateful to have even a modicum of support from someone within the pack. _And good luck. You'll need it if she's anything like her brother_. Maybe he didn't like Jared so much, after all. Jake didn't seem too pleased either, as they both growled at the same time.

_God, you two are hilarious._ Leah's tone was dry.

_Stop it, Leah. Jake, get your ass over here and report. Paul, you're off duty, but if you take so much as one step through that door...._ Sam's voice trailed off threateningly.

_Sure, whatever. Aw hell, Jake, I haven't got any clothes now._ _Ass_.

_You stay the hell away from my sister, Paul, or I swear to God –_

_Isn't it lovely to have everyone together again? _Leah commented wryly.

_Be serious, Leah. _You could almost hear Seth rolling his eyes. _Welcome back, Jake._

_

* * *

_**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review xxx :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: And here's the next chapter, on time! I've literally just finished writing it...I had to go out with my bf instead of doing fic. Such a chore, I know.**

**Massive thanks to everybody who reviewed! I tried to send out the outtakes yesterday, but thanks to the huge fail I couldn't. I love Leah :)**

**Huge love to my girls QA and xparawhorextwerdx, I know I fail at keeping in touch but I miss you...*hugs***

**Anyway, chapter 9. Outtakes for reviews! I think you're getting a pretty good deal here, actually...enjoy xxx :)**

**

* * *

**_Stop it, Leah. Jake, get your ass over here and report. Paul, you're off duty, but if you take so much as one step through that door...._ Sam's voice trailed off threateningly.

_Sure, whatever. Aw hell, Jake, I haven't got any clothes now._ _Ass_.

_You stay the hell away from my sister, Paul, or I swear to God –_

_Isn't it lovely to have everyone together again? _Leah commented wryly.

_Be serious, Leah. _You could almost hear Seth rolling his eyes. _Welcome back, Jake._

_

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**

Jake gave Paul one last vicious nip before allowing him to roll over and up, shaking himself down as the rain continued to lash down around them. By the time he turned round, Jake had already slunk off into the woods, thoughts incoherently dark and resentful. Paul's mind, however, was muddled with a mixture of chagrin, disappointment and irritation.

_Thanks a lot, Jake_, he hissed. With no clothes, he'd hardly be able to go back to see Rachel; not only would he be forced to creep home and sneak into his own house, but he'd have to do it totally naked – in the rain – and in the morning face his mother's wrath for having lost yet more clothes. Even his shoes had been ruined.

The other wolves had vanished from the pack mind, only Jared remaining on the periphery as he went about his patrol quietly, and he was thinking about Kim so Paul could dwell on his problem in relative peace. What was he going to do?

"Hello?"

Paul spun as a tentative voice came from behind. Rachel was standing in the gaping hole which the two wolves had smashed through the side of the shed, arms wrapped tightly around herself in an attempt to keep warm as the cold rain soaked quickly into her clothes. Squinting out into the darkness outside through the water falling in furious sheets from the heavy sky, it was obvious she couldn't see him, hidden as he was in the deep shadows cast by the trees looming overhead.

"Paul? Jake, where are you? If you've hurt him, Jake, I swear..."

He remained stock still, but Paul's mind was racing. Should he step forward, or back? Reveal himself to her or slip away into the darkness? He wasn't sure if she was ready to see him as a wolf, ready to truly accept him and everything he was, and yet there seemed to be something fundamentally wrong about stealing away like a thief and leaving her to get back to the house by herself – in the dark and rain. Maybe she'd be too scared to venture out into the night, and stay in the shed –

Or not. Even as he tried desperately to decide what the best plan of action was, Rachel stepped gingerly over the shattered pieces of wood scattered over the wet ground; instead of heading in the direction of the house, her feet carried her towards the woods where the shadows deepened, into the blackness where Paul was skulking.

"Paul, I know you're out there." He could hear her heart racing, betraying the fact that she wasn't nearly as calm as she appeared. "Where are you? Shit." Rachel's voice broke on the last word, cracking suddenly as a change in the wind brought a fresh wave of rain pelting even harder than before. "Please. _Please, _Paul."

There was no way he could deny her tears.

Moving painfully slowly so that he didn't startle her any more than was inevitable – he was a gigantic silver wolf, after all, so he'd be worried if she wasn't at least a little scared – Paul took a few tentative steps out of the shadows, hunched up as much as possible in a somewhat useless attempt to appear slightly smaller. Rachel whirled at the movement; all of the colour washed out of her face, her mouth dropping open in a silent scream as she stumbled backwards, and Paul froze.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. _Oh my God_." Over and over, like a prayer. He could hear her heartbeat thundering now, so much faster than before that he was afraid it might explode.

"_Paul?_"

He gave a low answering whine, the only reply he could think of.

"God."

They stared at one another for what seemed a very, very long time. The space between them was agonising, but Paul didn't dare move any closer; not only was he afraid to scare Rachel, but he was suddenly very aware of the way in which her sodden clothes clung to her form and wasn't entirely sure whether he could trust himself not to phase back instantly in order to kiss her again – among other things. The silence dragged on, even affecting Jared wherever he was on patrol.

_Jeez, Paul, just do something already,_ he hissed. _You're making _me_ jumpy._

_What the hell ever, dude._

_I'm serious. If she hasn't run by now, she's not about to._

Rachel chose that moment to prove Jared right – unfortunately, on that count – by taking two steps forward. They were tiny, barely bringing her any closer at all, but it was enough; her intention was clear, so Paul crept forward a little himself, lowering his head so that it was on a level with the girl's. To her credit, she showed no sign of fear beyond the slightest flinch.

When they were this close, and with his enhanced senses, Paul could smell her even more clearly. The rain had lifted the scent of her hair so that it was more potent than ever, yet somehow softened to seem more natural, a part of the woods and air and –

_Cut it _out_, Paul. Jesus. _Jared sounded decidedly disgusted.

_Butt out, asshole._

_Oh, real nice, man._

Stubbornly, Paul blocked his packmate out, turning all of his attention back to Rachel. She hadn't moved an inch, remaining stock still instead with eyes fixed on his face. Uncertain what to do, he mimicked her stillness, so saw the moment when the decision clicked in her gaze. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed nervously, but Rachel's jaw was set in abrupt determination as she reached out with one brave hand to stroke gently down the side of his muzzle. Paul didn't move, despite how his heart leapt with pride for her courage.

"It's really true, isn't it?" she whispered with awe.

The massive wolf dipped his head slightly in confirmation, but she still didn't move her hand. Paul couldn't help but briefly wonder what exactly she'd have done if he'd shaken his head. He decided not to test the theory.

"You're really Paul," Rachel breathed. "God, you're beautiful."

Somewhere in La Push, a wolf doubled over in doggy laughter.

"Jake didn't hurt you, did he?" she asked anxiously, before giving a short laugh. "God, I'm such an idiot. You can't talk. You can't, can you?" she added suspiciously. "I mean, I think a talking wolf would send me over the edge."

Paul nuzzled his nose into her palm to tell her that no, he couldn't speak.

"Won't you change back and talk to me?"

This time he did lift his head in order to shake his head emphatically. There was no way he could change back in front of her; Jake would kill him. Paul could already feel the bruises from where his body had made contact with the wall – and tree – and ground – and although they were fading quickly, he wasn't going to risk antagonising the other wolf any more. Some wounds took a long time to heal, and much as he hated to admit it, Jake really was a better fighter than him.

"Why not?" A knowing look passed through her dark eyes. "It's the whole naked thing, isn't it? God you're such a prude."

Paul choked a little on that. That had to be the first time in his entire life that he'd been referred to as a prude. _Go screw yourself!_ he snarled angrily at Jared, whose laughter hadn't quite stopped yet. It would have been even worse with any one of the others, he comforted himself weakly. Quil and Embry would have been insufferable, and Leah...he winced mentally.

Rachel was still studying him, head cocked to one side so that her wet hair hung in bedraggled strands over one shoulder. It was only now that Paul realised how cold she must be in her wet clothes, the heavy clouds still open to let the water splash down on the already saturated earth. Sudden panic set in; what if she caught a cold? The flu? If she got really ill, simply because he'd been absent-minded enough to make her stand around outside in a storm.

Before he could do anything, however – God knows what he would have done, anyway, because the only solution his frantic mind could call up was taking the back of her shirt in his teeth and carrying her back into the shed – the woman spoke. "I'll get you something of Jake's," she told him. "Come on."

Paul followed as obediently as a little lost puppy, doing his best to ignore Jared's sniggers. _Jerk_. The water underfoot had gathered in puddles, making the ground they had to walk through marshy and slippery; more than once Rachel's feet skidded, her hands coming up automatically to seize hold of Paul's fur in order to steady herself. Perhaps it was a little pathetic that he felt so grateful to be useful to her in that way, but the boy didn't care; every time she grabbed hold, Rachel would smile up at him in silent thanks, and the joy he felt at knowing that _he_ had made her smile was far greater.

There was only one light on in the house when they finally reached the front door; through the window, Paul could see Billy sat beside the lamp with a book in his hands.

"Wait here, I'll get you a towel so you can change." Rachel beamed up at him, apparently already comfortable with the concept of talking to a huge wolf, before darting quickly inside out of the rain. Paul watched her flit through the main room, saw Billy's exclamation of dismay at her appearance; father and daughter exchanged a few brief words before Rachel left the room, returning a minute later with an off-white towel in her hands.

She had, however, in those few brief moments that she'd been out of his sight, stripped out of her wet clothes and wrapped a bath sheet around herself. Paul gulped.

"Here you go." The door in front of him opened again and Rachel stood there, looking as if she'd just stepped out of a shower. The towel was wrapped tightly around her body, barely reaching to mid-thigh and held up by one of her hands – the contrast between the pale sheet and her bronzed hands was remarkable, and Paul swallowed nervously.

The wolf shook its head.

"Come on," Rachel replied with exasperation. Holding up the spare towel like a screen, she added, "I won't be able to see a thing."

_Jesus._ Paul glanced skittishly around, sparing a glance for Billy who seemed totally absorbed in his book. With no other choice, he allowed his body to change, allowed the familiar twisting sensation to overtake him until he stood naked on the Blacks' porch in pouring rain, grabbing for the towel which he hastily folded about his waist.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Rachel's dark eyes were sparkling with amusement and something else Paul couldn't quite identify. "Come on."

"I can't." The words blurted out by themselves before he had a chance to think about them, but even as he spoke he realised how true it was. Sam had forbidden him to set foot through the door. "I _can't_."

One of the woman's eyebrows quirked briefly. "What, do I have to invite you in? I thought that was just vampires."

"No. Sam ordered me not to set foot through the door. I _can't._"

"And Sam is exactly what...?"

"Alpha. Our pack leader."

"Right. Well, are you coming in or not?"

Paul's frustration rose. "I told you, I _can't._ I'm sorry."

"God, you're not a very good teenage boy, are you? If you can't come through the door, try the window, Sherlock."

_Oh. Right._

Rachel's laugh was the prettiest he'd ever heard. "See you around the back. I'll get you another towel." He started to turn, but she was still speaking. "Want to know a secret, Paul?"

The boy spun back, anxious to know anything he could about the girl he'd imprinted on. "Sure."

The laughter was back in her voice, in the way her lips twisted upwards and how her dark eyes shone. "I peeked."

And then the door was closed, and Paul was left standing alone and dumbfounded in the rain.

* * *

**AN: Please review! xxx :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: God, I'm updating on time **_**again**_**. I'm sorry, you might get used to it ;)**

**Busy, busy week for me...I've been away. And I still found time to write this? Why yes, I did.**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, I love hearing from you – especially those I see every week. And it's also great to see new people *coughBIGFATHINTcough***

**Uh...yeah. Chapter ten. Wow...double figures! It's also the longest we've had so far...and we'll be getting into the actual BD plot soon, I promise. Again, outtakes for reviews...hope you enjoy xxx :)**

**

* * *

**"_Well, are you coming in or not?"_

_Paul's frustration rose. "I told you, I can't. I'm sorry."_

"_God, you're not a very good teenage boy, are you? If you can't come through the door, try the window, Sherlock."_

_Oh. Right._

_Rachel's laugh was the prettiest he'd ever heard. "See you around the back. I'll get you another towel." He started to turn, but she was still speaking. "Want to know a secret, Paul?"_

_The boy spun back, anxious to know anything he could about the girl he'd imprinted on. "Sure."_

_The laughter was back in her voice, in the way her lips twisted upwards and how her dark eyes shone. "I peeked."_

_And then the door was closed, and Paul was left standing alone and dumbfounded in the rain._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Ten**

Paul woke up to a very deja vu moment. Jerked violently backwards from the best dream he'd ever had – in which there was an incredibly pretty, strangely familiar woman curled into his side with her head on his shoulder – he barely had time to register that he was even awake before being dropped with a thud to the ground.

"What the hell, Paul?" a voice raged, and he blinked only to find his vision filled with a very angry Jacob. Eyes blazing with fury, the huge boy stood with his hands on his hips in the middle of the room – which, on a second glance, appeared to be a bedroom. A girl's bedroom...Rachel's bedroom.

_Oh. Oh dear._

Behind the boy, Paul could see Rachel – hair beautifully mussed, pyjamas delightfully rumpled – on the bed rubbing blearily at sleep-filled eyes with her fists; so maybe the dream hadn't been all that far from reality after all. Even as he tried to remember desperately just _how much_ of his dream had been real, because he was fairly certain Rachel had been wearing a little less clothing, Jake gave a growl of rage and jerked him up again.

"You're wearing my shirt!" he snarled.

Paul sighed, roughly shrugging the other boy's grip from his arm. "Well, I didn't exactly have any of my own clothes to wear, did I?" he retorted. _Now_ he remembered what had happened the night before; climbing through the living room window while Billy looked on, half-amused and half-disapproving (because honestly, 'sneaking' into a girl's house with the parent's full knowledge was more than a little awkward).

Then there was the agony of waiting in Rachel's room while she showered next door, only made worse by the fact that when _he _went to have a shower of his own afterwards the bathroom was filled with the scent of her shampoo and he could see her wet footprints on the mat. His imagination went from nought to overdrive in less than three seconds.

After _that_ they'd sat together on her bed (Billy's snores were already floating through the little house) simply talking for hours until Rachel's head dropped down sleepily onto his shoulder as his fingers lazily twirled her sweet-smelling hair between them, as her breathing evened out and she'd fallen asleep snuggled safely into his side. Paul had considered leaving – _honestly_ – but decided that moving would only disturb her and he couldn't possibly do that, particularly as she seemed so tired. It was a pretty good justification for staying the night, he thought.

Jake's petulant voice jerked him back to the present. "Those are my pants, too!"

"Would you like them back?" Paul cocked an eyebrow, hands moving down to the zipper as if to remove them. He felt a surge of amused satisfaction as Jake's face blanched and couldn't help shooting a wink at Rachel – only to find her wickedly gleaming eyes fixed on his fingers.

"No!" Jake sounded panicked. "It's fine. Don't take them off. Don't you dare try to strip in front of my sister again. _Ever_."

"Oh believe me, he won't have to _try_," Rachel muttered, in a tone which would have been too low for any normal human being to hear but – unfortunately – was perfectly audible to Paul and Jake. The girl's brother spun around to face her, eyes wild.

"Rachel, don't...just don't..." He swallowed. "My _sister,_ Paul. Why did it have to be my _sister?_"

Rachel rolled her eyes in exasperation, pushing up from the bed to stand between them. She barely came up to their shoulders. "I'm not solely categorised as your _sister_, Jacob," she snapped. "And since when does that have anything to do with anything? You made it perfectly clear last night –"

"Jeez, Rach, I'm sorry." Jake held up both of his hands in contrition, backed away from her a step. Paul would have laughed if he wasn't half sure that both of them would have taken his head off for it. "I didn't mean any of that stuff I said. Well, not really," he added defensively under her disbelieving glower. "It's just...God, Rach. It's _Paul._"

Paul started forward in protest, but his imprint sent him a glance worthy of any schoolteacher. "Paul, _I'm_ dealing with this." He slunk back like a puppy that had just been smacked on the nose for some misdemeanour, realising glumly that this diminutive woman _owned _them both. There was no possible way he'd win an argument again. Ever. "Jacob, what Paul and I do is none of your business. Hear that? None of it. This is complicated enough without you sticking your big nose in where it's not wanted."

"But –"

"Shut _up_, Jake." To Paul's amazement, Jake glanced at the floor and shuffled his feet, looking for all the world like a chided five year-old. "Having _said _that, you have no reason to worry. Paul's only sixteen, and I have absolutely no intention of being arrested. Is that clear?" She glanced between both of them this time, and Paul nodded automatically even as his face fell. The expression of absolute smugness on Jake's features, however, pulled him from his misery enough to snarl.

"Bite me, Jake."

The other boy grinned beatifically. "It'd be my pleasure."

"_Boys_." Rachel snapped out the word, and even Jacob managed to look a little ashamed. _Jerk._ "You're going to make an effort to get on, aren't you?"

Over her head, they exchanged glances full of venom. "Of course," Paul ground out.

"_Total pansy!_" Jake mouthed so Rachel couldn't see. It took every ounce of Paul's self-control – which was, surprisingly, much greater than he'd thought it was, and probably increasing every moment since he'd met Rachel – not to leap across the room and show Jake just how much of a pansy he _wasn't_.

"Well that's good," Rachel continued, seemingly oblivious. "Especially as Paul's going to be spending a lot more time over here."

"He is?" Jake sounded horrified, and it was Paul's turn to be smug. Even so, he still had to add a brief, "I am?"

"Well, if you want to." Suddenly the comandeering schoolteacher was gone, and Rachel looked suddenly very vulnerable. "I mean, you don't have to...if you don't..."

"I'd love to," Paul interrupted quickly. He hated seeing the plaintive doubt in her eyes, hated that she didn't seem as absolutely certain as he was about how much he wanted to spend time with her. "I'll be here whenever you want me. Hell, I'll be here when you _don't _want me." That thought panicked him, and he added quickly, "You won't do that, will you?"

"God, no. You won't get bored of me, will you?" Rachel looked just as worried as he felt, and his heart swelled.

"That's impossible. Even if I was here every day –"

"Which you won't be," Jake hissed. "You've got to do your patrols, remember?"

"Oh." Paul's face fell as he caught the steely glint in Jake's eyes, and he had a feeling that he'd be put on the most inconvenient patrol schedule from now on. "Patrol. Yeah."

"Right." Even Rachel looked deflated. "Well, come over whenever you want, Paul."

"I will." When she wasn't looking, Paul smirked at Rachel's brother.

"Speaking of patrol, you're on today." Jake got his own back with that comment, and he knew it. "Fairly soon, actually. So you'd better be going, hadn't you?" His tone was pointed, so much so that Paul couldn't even pretend to ignore it. His shoulders slumped.

"Of course. You have to go." Rachel's obvious disappointment went a massively long way to making Paul feel that little bit better. She would miss him, and as awful as he knew it sounded, he felt glad. If she missed him, he _meant_ something to her.

"I'll be back later," he promised.

"Good." Her smile was radiant.

The mood was spoilt slightly by Jake's gagging sound, and Rachel whirled on him with narrowed eyes. "I didn't say anything!" he protested quickly.

"What are you still doing in my room, Jake?" Rachel hissed. "Go away. And don't you dare even _think_ about coming in here again, not even if you want to so much as borrow a pencil."

"Okay. Okay, Rach. I won't." His eyes grew shrewd. "The same stands for Paul, right?"

The woman turned to study the werewolf who had imprinted on her for a long moment. "Paul," she spoke with dignity, "has to knock first."

_Score! _It took considerable strength of will – and he congratulated himself on it – not to leap up and do a dance of joy and victory on the bed. He settled for mentally punching the air and sticking his tongue out at Jake...he could gloat over it properly later.

"I hate this," Jake groaned. His sister rose onto her toes, reached up to pat him condescendingly on the cheek.

"Learn to live with it," she advised him sweetly. Paul grinned and shrugged as Jake stormed past him, glowering.

"You need to go, Paul," he growled furiously. "And I want that shirt back. It's my favourite."

Rachel and Paul exchanged amused glances. "Sure, whatever. Have your precious shirt back." He reached up to tug the neck of it over his head, still not breaking eye contact with Rachel. Those dark eyes widened as she took an involuntary step closer – Paul could see in her gaze that she was unaware that she'd moved at all – and he pulled it off the rest of the way as quickly as he could, not wanting to lose that connection between them any longer than absolutely necessary. He needn't have bothered, really, because Rachel's gaze skittered immediately down to the bare expanse of skin exposed, and she drew in a sharp gasp of air.

"He's sixteen...sixteen..._sixteen_," she chanted under her breath, and Paul's grin widened exponentially. She obviously hadn't intended him to hear, but if she was going to hang out with wolves she'd have to get used to the fact that they heard _everything._

"What's sixteen? Rach – Jesus, Paul! Put the damn shirt back on!"

Rachel's head snapped up, the spell broken. "Jacob Black, get the hell out of my bedroom!" she raged.

"I'm not _in_ your room. I'm standing outside. Rach, _step away _from the dead man."

Paul flipped up his middle finger at Jake, smirking. It probably wasn't the wisest of moves – he'd sure as hell pay for it later – but it was fun while it lasted. Jake was obviously too terrified of his sister to come back into the room, and he had enough control not to phase right there in the house. At least, Paul hoped he did.

"Oh, that was _really _mature, Paul." Rachel rolled her eyes, but he only grinned in return.

"Rach, since when did being mature have anything to do with anything?"

"About the time you imprinted on a girl four years older than you. Get out of here, Paul." She was laughing, though, so he knew he wasn't in too much trouble. Well, at least not with Rachel; he'd still have to deal with Jake.

"See you later, Rachel." He bent to kiss her cheek, heard a groan from outside the room and had to laugh.

"Shut it, Paul."

"Don't you _dare_ do anything to him, Jacob!" Rachel called after them. "If I see a single mark on him..."

"Oh, you won't," Jake muttered darkly. "We heal fast."

"If she asks, I won't lie," Paul retorted.

"Tattler."

"Aw, I'm sorry, _Jakey._" The other boy, furious, turned to punch him but Paul was ready; dodging the blow, he broke out into a flat-out sprint towards the forest with Jake in hot pursuit. Pausing just long enough to shed the pants, he was still running when he let the change overtake him, the rhythm of his feet pounding against the damp earth changing to compensate for four legs instead of two, the sounds and scents of the forest enfolding him as he raced on as a wolf.

_I'm going to kill you!_ Jacob snarled.

_Aren't you scared of what your sister'll do to you if you try?_

_Will you two _please_ grow up? _Both boys let out a mental groan as they heard Leah's tone, which really didn't help matters. _Yes, it's me. Live with it. _ A note of amusement flashed through her mind as she read the memory which leapt unprompted into Paul's head at her words. _Really, Jake? Your favourite shirt? Poor ickle boy._

_I hate you._

_That's hardly news. And quit being so much like...yourself, the hostility's scaring Collin._

Paul became abruptly aware of the newest werewolf in the pack mind, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. _Hey, dude,_ he offered sheepishly. _'Sup?_

A series of too bright, too loud snippets of Collin's life flashed through the collective mind, and all four of them winced.

_You'll get used to it, kid,_ Jake soothed awkwardly, before turning his attention back to Leah. _Seriously? The boy's out on patrol with _you_ and you're concerned about how _my_ hostility's going to affect him? Jeez, Leah, that's ass-backwards._

_Go screw yourself, Jake._

_The two of you are so bitter, maybe you should just screw each other and get it out of your system,_ Paul suggested mockingly. He was greeted with two vicious snarls and a number of suggestions which made Collin blanch, stammer out an excuse, and disappear.

_I love doing that to the kid, _Leah murmured matter-of-factly. _He's so easy to tease._

_Nice, Leah._ Paul and Jake shared a moment of mutual exasperation, before realising their agreement and jerking sharply away from it. _Asstard._

_Jakey._

_Beautiful_, Leah chipped in, and both she and Jake sniggered. Paul 'shrugged'.

_Hey, it was your sister that said it,_ he grinned, and sensed Jake's amusement wiped right away.

_Jerk._

_Whatever._

_You two are ridiculous, _Leah interrupted scornfully. _I'll leave the pair of you to it, since I'm off patrol now. Lucky me,_ she added as an aside, images of the always exuberant Seth bouncing around her mind. Apparently, Sue was driving them into Port Angeles for some much-needed new clothing, and Paul couldn't hold back the wince at the concept of Leah and Seth unleashed on the city. _Oh, laugh it up,_ the girl hissed menacingly.

Wisely, neither boy even considered answering.

_He wants you to concentrate on the border today,_ she continued, and although she didn't think Sam's name there was absolutely no doubt as to who she was referring to. _Some movement on the leeches' side...more so than usual. Keep an eye._

_What, I'm meant to be patrolling with this jerk _ ?Jake whined, and Paul's dismay was equally as evident.

_Who's laughing now, Jakey? See ya later, Beautiful,_ she added, and then Leah was gone and it was just the two boys.

_I hate you, Paul._

_Just wait until I tell Rachel you said that, Jakey..._ Luckily, there was enough physical distance between them by now that an attack wasn't feasible, but Paul still ran a little faster as an explosion of expletives rang in his ears.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! And an extra incentive to review – I'm thinking the outtake this week will probably be from Rachel's POV, of the 'sleepover'... xxx :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Well, this has been a very busy week for me. I've been ill...and I've had the results of some very important exams (which I passed! Yay!) and another exam (which I also passed!). **

**This story was also mentioned on the Temptation podcast (thank you cdunbar!) which made me ridiculously happy, and was accepted on Twilighted. Which means, basically, that it doesn't entirely suck...which is always nice to know ;)**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews – I hope you enjoyed the outtake. Writing Rachel was even more fun than I'd anticipated, so you never know...I might have her again soon. Ooh, and there'll be another outtake for this chapter's reviews.**

**And something else - Paul is sixteen. I've recently realised that if Rachel's more than a year older than Bella, and Bella turns 19 in BD, then Rachel's nearly 21. Sorry for the confusion. The problem with the age gap will be discussed this chapter.  
**

**Another point...I'm increasing the rating of this story, because I'd forgotten it was only K+. It's also really hard writing arguments when the characters aren't allowed to swear and they **_**really**_** want to, and besides...it's much more fun. Enjoy! xxx :)**

**

* * *

**What, I'm meant to be patrolling with this jerk​​_? Jake whined, and Paul's dismay was equally as evident._

Who's laughing now, Jakey? See ya later, Beautiful,_ she added, and then Leah was gone and it was just the two boys._

I hate you, Paul.

Just wait until I tell Rachel you said that, Jakey... _Luckily, there was enough physical distance between them by now that an attack wasn't feasible, but Paul still ran a little faster as an explosion of expletives rang in his ears._

_

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven**

"Left a bit, Rach. Go _left_! Jeez, not that much! Be more gentle."

"I'm trying!" she wailed. "But it's hard! I can't see what I'm _doing_."

Paul sighed with exasperation. "You're on the bottom."

"Well I'm going on top next time, then. I've never _done_ this before," she added with what could be classified as a whine. Paul would never call it that; he valued his life too highly. Rachel did _not_ whine. "Shit! It vibrated!"

"You're not supposed to just _drop_ it, Rach." Paul could feel a plaintive whine creeping into his own voice now.

"Oh! You mean it's meant to do that? Well, we'll have to start again."

The boy fought back his growing frustration. "Rach, you can't just stop and start over all the time if it goes wrong."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I said I've never done it before, can't you cut me some slack? It's _hard_."

"Well _I've_ only ever done it with guys before, and you said that –"

"Oh, so now you're saying that it's because I'm a girl?"

"There _is _a difference, you know."

That was probably the wrong thing to say. Rachel pushed herself up from the couch, apparently ready to storm over to the tv and switch it off, but Paul jumped up – dropping his games controller onto the table – and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back down next to him. "I'm sorry," he told her contritely. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

She refused to look at him.

"Rach, babe..." Paul pleaded. "I'm sorry." He lowered his face to nuzzle into her neck, and only then became aware that she was shaking with laughter. "What's so funny?"

She didn't answer, so he spun her around to face him. "Hey!"

"You are, you're _laughing_." A wicked gleam entered his eyes, and he began to tickle her so that she squirmed, breathless giggles coming louder as she batted helplessly at his hands.

"Stop it! Stop it, Paul! If you don't, I swear I'll scream..." The way she was writhing underneath him pushed Rachel's body into some _very_ interesting places on Paul's own which – much as he perhaps enjoyed it – wasn't going to end well. Instead, the boy rolled over with a sigh so that she was stretched out on top of him, her hands held safely captive in his own as her soft hair brushed down across his neck, tickling even as it swept tantalising wafts of her perfume to him.

"Oh, you're not going to scream, Rach," Paul taunted cockily. "You like me too much."

"Oh really?" Rachel tried, and failed, to look threatening, the corners of her lips twitching unconvincingly. "You think I wouldn't scream if I really wanted?"

It didn't escape Paul that she hadn't argued against the fact that she liked him, and his heart gave that funny little skip that he'd become so used to over the last week. "I didn't say you'd _never_ scream," he corrected her slyly. "I'll make you scream if I want to."

It was a promise, and they both knew it, because Rachel's cheeks flushed red. "We've talked about this, Paul," she replied, suddenly serious. Still in contact with him, she sat up to place a distance between their faces which, much as he hated it, gave them both room to think. "And I told you. You're sixteen."

"Which is totally legal in Washington!" he protested, pushing himself up on his elbows to kiss her.

"Unless," Rachel corrected, shoving him back down with a sharp finger in the centre of his chest, "the other party is sixty months older than said sixteen year-old, which I'm a little too close to to be entirely comfortable with."

He flopped back down, temporarily defeated. "It's a stupid law," he groaned. "Just a technicality."

"Technicalities are the basis of law," the woman replied primly, making Paul roll his eyes.

"That's ridiculous. Why do you know it anyway?"

The abrupt rosy blush as she refused to meet his eyes made him instantly suspicious, so Paul forced himself up into a sitting position. Although this had the disadvantage of him not being able to see her face, it _did_ bring their torsos flush against one another which – in Paul's book, anyway – was never a bad thing. "What did you get up to when you were sixteen that made you look up that law, Rach?"

His hand resting in the small of her back to hold her to him, Rachel had to tilt her head to meet his eyes which brought their bodies (if it was even possible) even closer. "Wouldn't you just love to know?" she teased breathlessly.

Paul bit back a groan. "God, Rach, you're killing me."

"I'd think that it would take a lot more to kill a werewolf." She patted his cheek condescendingly, so he grabbed her hand to squeeze gently, grinning up at her.

"You would, wouldn't you?"

"Silver bullets and shit...I know, I know. Just joking. You're _far _too tough to be laid out by anything as pathetic as a silver bullet."

"Just so long as you know it, Rach."

"Idiot." She half-heartedly jabbed him in the ribs before settling back down with a contented sigh, her cheek resting flat over his heart. Paul was certain that she'd be able to hear how quickly it was beating, sure that it was drumming out some sort of triumphant tattoo, but the girl who had become the centre of his world made no comment. They lay in happy silence, each enjoying the other's closeness; Paul turned his head so that his cheek rested on the top of Rachel's head, inhaling the scent of her hair with every breath.

"I reckon we should hang out at my house more often," Paul mused after a while, combing his fingers absent-mindedly through the long waves of dark hair which fell in a shining fountain over Rachel's shoulders. "Your brother doesn't keep bursting in on us here."

"I thought you two were getting along better?" Rachel pushed herself up, hands planted firmly on either side of his face, so that she could see him properly. "Paul, you _promised _me that you'd try –"

"Rach, babe, I am trying! But we've had a lot of practice not liking each other, and he can be such a fat-headed moron sometimes..." Suddenly remembering who he was talking to, Paul lowered his gaze with embarrassment. "I mean, I'm trying. I really am, Rach."

"I believe you." She dipped down to press a brief kiss to the tip of his nose. "I think I can guess how much of a jerk Jakey can be, so thank you." A slight frown furrowed her brow as she added anxiously, "he hasn't picked a fight with you over it, has he?"

"Uh..." Well, what fighting they _had_ done hadn't been specifically over the subject of Paul imprinting on Jake's sister. He had no doubt that it was the basic cause for Jake's recent belligerence, but through a conscious effort – and far, far more self control than he had ever known he owned – Paul had managed to resist rising to some of the more petty taunts, which previously would have resulted in full-out brawls between the two wolves.

"I'm going to kill him." Apparently, Rachel had read his hesitation as confirmation of her brother's actions, eyes suddenly blazing with fury. "That lying, two-faced moronic asshole! I'm going to –"

Because he loved that she wanted to protect him, because her face scrunched up in its anger was so beautiful, and because she was so close, Paul craned his neck forwards to kiss her, fast enough that she wouldn't have time to pull back or turn her head. She'd been avoiding their kisses, he'd noticed, whenever she allowed herself to remember their age difference with that strange morality she clung stubbornly to. This time, however, their lips met; hers frozen for a split second before instinct took over thought and her mouth was moving with his, tasting and breathing each other in.

Paul loved it when the rest of the world melted away so that it seemed as though they were the only two in the universe, when he knew that _this_ was how his life was supposed to be – here, with Rachel, forever.

She pushed him away far too soon, pulling back to create an agonising distance between them, but she was laughing as she stared down at him with flushed cheeks and that light in her eyes which Rachel only ever had for him. Paul knew; he'd watched her, seen how the expression leapt into her face when she turned to him, and dared to hope that she was falling in love with him too. He wasn't foolish enough to think that she would love him as fully and instantaneously as he loved her.

He let that love show in his gaze as he stared back at her now, knowing that a massive, giddy grin split his face but unable to care how stupid he might look.

"You're happy, aren't you?" Rachel queried suddenly. Face oddly sober, she reached up with both hands to push back her hair, but Paul gently grabbed them both in his own so that he could bring them together to his lips.

"Don't. It's beautiful," he added with uncharacteristic shyness, turning her hands over to place kisses first on one palm, then the other. "And yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Sudden worry struck him, his brow furrowed as he sat up, turning her as if she weighed nothing more than a feather to settle her securely in his lap. "Are you?"

"Yes! God, I am. I was just...well, I was..."

The woman's eyes were darting everywhere, refusing to look at him, so Paul used the hand which wasn't holding her safely to him to turn her face gently towards his own. "Talk to me, Rachel. Please, I don't like not knowing what you're thinking." He hated that she didn't know she could tell him anything, hated that she was worried about something which was quite probably to do with _them_. The past week seemed like an eternity in terms of how much they had got to know one another, but there were still moments – such as now – when it was so painfully clear how new this was. _Whatever _it was, too, because Paul wasn't entirely sure how to classify it. He knew that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Rachel, but he also understood how hard it must be for her to grasp that.

Her dark eyes met his now, and there was still that ambivalence in them; a curious combination of wariness, confusion, hope and trust shone in them as she took a deep breath to reply. "Well, I was talking to Leah..."

_That _made him groan. "Please don't listen to Leah. I'm fairly certain that she doesn't like me very much."

Rachel laughed then, but there was still a tightness in the set of her eyes which didn't quite disappear. "That's not true. She considers you pretty much the same way I think of Jake."

"Oh, so she just wants to kill me. How comforting."

"Ass! Just listen, can't you?" She prodded his shoulder, rolling her eyes at his mock wince. "No, I was wondering...she was telling me about the pack. About Sam. And I was thinking...did you...? I mean, was there...."

Her words trailed off, and it took a moment for him to understand what she'd been saying. "No! You think I wouldn't tell you, if...if..."

"If there'd been somebody else?" The words came out flat. "Yes. I think you would. But God...I don't _know_, Paul. I mean, it's all just so...screwed up."

His laugh was short. "Rach, it's La Push."

"True." Seemingly satisfied, she leant her head back against his chest, fingers tangling with his.

Paul dipped his head to kiss her temple, lips lingering close to her ear. "And there's nobody else." _There never will be_, he added silently, but decided to save telling her that for another time. There was no point in freaking her out by saying that she was, basically, stuck with him forever. Even Paul knew that girls liked having a choice in things.

"Thank you."

Their peaceful reverie was shattered by the sudden slam of the front door.

Rachel flew off Paul's lap as quickly as if the sound had been a gunshot, so that by the time Haley danced around the corner she was sat primly next to him on the couch with her hands folded on her knees. Paul bit back a laugh – the conspicuous gap between the two of them wasn't going to fool his parents at all – but did manage to shoot Rachel a reassuring smile as she glanced at him with wide, panicked eyes. She hadn't met the rest of his family before.

"Paul, look what Gran gave me! Bet you're mad you didn't come, 'cause she made those cupcakes and we didn't save any for..." Haley's voice trailed off, her exuberant bouncing stopping abruptly as she caught sight of Rachel sitting next to her brother. With massive eyes, she opened her mouth to say something before quickly closing it again.

"Haley, love, don't tease your brother. Of course your Gran wouldn't have let us...oh." Paul's mom did exactly the same open-and-close mouth action as her ten year-old daughter, struck unusually speechless. _This_ was the moment, of course, that Paul's dad came in, so that all three of them stood staring at the boy and girl sitting together on the couch.

"Uh..." Paul pushed himself upright hastily. "Mom, Dad, this is Rachel." She jumped up at his side, staying a little bit behind him as her hand snaked through Paul's behind his back, where nobody could see. He squeezed it gently, overwhelmingly grateful for that small contact and thrilled that she had sought comfort from him. "Rach, this is my mom and dad. And Haley."

"_You're_ the girl that he's been talking about the whole time for the entire week," Haley announced. Paul made a mental note to hug her later for breaking the tension – and to hide her favourite shoes for letting on that he'd been talking about Rachel. He hadn't done it the _whole time_. Maybe he'd mentioned her once or twice a day. Or hour.

"I hope so," Rachel laughed nervously. "Pleased to meet you."

"Lovely to meet you too, dear. I'm Deborah Kerr." Paul's mom stepped forward, hand outstretched, and the boy held on to Rachel a moment longer before releasing her fingers.

"Brian." Paul's dad grinned cheerfully as he shook Rachel's hand in turn. "And Haley's exaggerating, a little."

"I'm not," the little girl piped up. "You were away for a bit, Dad, so you missed some of it. He talks about her _all the time. _He's obsessed," she confided to Rachel, and Paul couldn't help but groan. _This_ was why he hadn't wanted Rachel to meet Haley. Ever.

"That's not true, Hales," he tried to defend himself. "I'm not obsessed." The girl in question turned a radiant smile on him, and his heart did that little flip again. _Rachel, Rachel, Rachel,_ his mind chanted happily.

"Whatever." Haley rolled her eyes theatrically, before ignoring her brother altogether and turning back to Rachel. "My Gran said she wants to meet you, after I told her why Paul didn't come to see her today. She'll make you cupcakes."

"That sounds great," Rachel replied, her eyes darting to Paul's and sparkling with amusement. "I'd love to meet your Gran, Paul."

"Haley, leave the poor girl alone. Didn't you say you'd been invited over to your friend's for dinner? Because you'd better hurry up and get whatever you need to take together. I'll drive you over in five minutes." Paul's dad gave an apologetic smile to Rachel as Haley rushed from the room. "I'm sorry. She's eaten too many cupcakes this lunchtime."

"She's always like that," Paul muttered darkly, much to Rachel's amusement.

"Oh, I don't mind. Just imagine two of her, and you've got Rebecca and I when we were younger." There was a collective wince.

"You're Billy's daughter, aren't you?" Paul's mom recalled. "I remember the two of you when you were small...it's lovely to have you back on the rez. Oh, Brian, you said you'd drop off that parcel at the Marina, will you have time before it closes if you're taking Haley?"

"I can drop off Haley if you want," Rachel offered. Paul stared at her in consternation, speechless, as she continued, "I'd love the opportunity to talk to her some more." She offered Paul an innocent smile, and his mouth dropped open. God. The one thing he'd never imagined, something more cataclysmic than the summer vampire invasion, was the concept of Rachel and Haley getting along. Friends. _Crap._

"Really?" His mom seemed just as surprised, her tone doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Rachel smiled sunnily.

"Well, that's...very kind of you. I'll go and tell Haley what's happening." Paul's mom dragged his dad from the room, both with wide grins on their faces.

_Oh, God, no. This is horrible._

"I'll come too," Paul offered desperately.

"Don't be silly. It's girl time. I'd love to get to know your sister, Paul."

That's what he was worried about. The four horsemen of his personal apocalypse were drawing closer, but Paul was already beaten. How could he say no to something Rachel really wanted, even if it spelled hell for him?

"I'll meet you over at your house," he replied with resignation.

Rachel laughed, patted his cheek fondly. "Good boy."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading, and please review! xxx :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Well crap...another busy week. I'm so, so sorry, but I haven't had time to write an outtake – I'm only just finishing this chapter now, and it's 2am. See the dedication there? At least I don't have to get up...it's a bank holiday.**

**Part of the reason for my busyness is work, and another is that I've been working on a one-shot as an entry to the 'For the Love of Jasper' contest. It's very, very different to WLS, and it's called 'My Scars are the Pieces of my Soul'. I'd love it if you'd check it out and let me know what you think... *shameless self-pimpery* :)**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! They really mean a lot to me...and I promise I'll try for an outtake this week. ****We're on to the actual BD storyline now – some of the dialogue is taken directly from the book, because there's really no way around it. Hope you enjoy xxx :)**

**

* * *

**"_I can drop off Haley if you want," Rachel offered. _

Oh, God, no. This is horrible.

"_I'll come too," Paul offered desperately._

"_Don't be silly. It's girl time. I'd love to get to know your sister, Paul."_

_That's what he was worried about. _

"_I'll meet you over at your house," he replied with resignation._

_Rachel laughed, patted his cheek fondly. "Good boy."_

_

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve**

Billy was just leaving when Paul loped out of the woods at the Blacks' house; the Elder's lips drew together into a flat line, the crease in his brows deepening a little, but he greeted the boy cordially enough. "Rachel's not here. Isn't she with you?"

"Oh. No, she's not. She's taking Haley to a friend's house."

Billy's eyebrows shot up so high that they nearly disappeared into his hair. "Rachel's taking your little sister to a friend's house."

Paul tried not to cringe, wasn't sure entirely how successful he'd been at keeping his chagrin from his face. "Yeah, they're having some girl time."

There was a gleam of amusement in Billy's eyes which Paul _really_ didn't appreciate. "And whose idea was that?"

"Ah...Rachel's."

The much respected tribal elder didn't laugh, but he looked very much like he wanted to. His gaze, however, as he turned it on Paul, was in equal parts mocking and sympathetic. "I'm sure they'll get on very well."

_That's what I'm worried about_. But Paul merely nodded, adding, "Thanks, sir. Is it all right if I wait here for Rachel?" He was going to stay anyway, but he figured that it would be more comfortable inside. Besides, Rachel had said that he was allowed to help himself to anything he wanted, and Paul was hungry.

"Sure, sure." For a moment Billy had looked as if he was going to refuse – his dislike of Paul's presence at the house was always more evident whenever Rachel wasn't around, for some reason – but he gave a sigh instead. "Of course. Just don't eat all the food, okay? Jake should be home this evening, too."

_Great._ Just what Paul really wanted – the most obnoxious of his packmates, Rachel's brother, hanging around and cramping what little style he had with menacing glares. Thanks to a particularly caustic dismissal from Rachel a few days before, the snarky comments at least had been reduced (while she was there, anyway) but Jake's hulking presence was enough to dampen anyone's mood, and even more so when all you wanted to do was snuggle up to Jacob's sister on the sofa.

Paul's horror at even thinking the word _snuggle_ was on a par with how he'd felt upon hearing Rachel was going to spend some quality time with Haley. He's heard imprinting changed a guy, but jeez – _snuggle_?

"Bear in mind that I want to see the house still standing when I get back, Paul. Play nice."

"Of _course_, sir."

Doubtful didn't even begin to describe the expression on Billy's face. Paul was mildly offended.

As soon as Billy had wheeled himself away, it occurred to Paul that perhaps he should have offered to help him get to wherever he was going – he was Rachel's dad, after all, not to mention an elder – but decided against going after him on the grounds that Billy would have asked if he needed help. Besides, Paul wasn't sure his newly discovered self-control was strong enough to last any length of time in enforced close quarters with somebody who didn't like him much – at least, that was the vibe he was getting from Billy.

His decision was made by the memory of the pack of Doritos he'd helped Rachel unpack after her trip to the grocery store on Tuesday. God, he'd got some ribbing for that from the pack (helping unpack the shopping made him pussywhipped how?) but at least he knew where all the food was kept now, which was more than could be said for Jake. Paul also knew – as Jake didn't – about the secret supply of Reese's which Rachel had got especially for him. Admittedly, she'd rolled her eyes and muttered something disparaging which sounded suspiciously like 'teenage boys', but you didn't see her buying anything special for Jake, did you?

As ever, the front door was unlocked, and Paul made his way straight to the kitchen with a slight frown. For the first time he worried about the absolute lack of security at the house – what if somebody came in and tried to kill Rachel? – but pushed the uncomfortable thought aside. He'd talk her into getting a deadbolt for her bedroom door to keep her safe when he wasn't around (and keep Jake out when he _was_).

Bag of chips in one hand, remote in the other, Paul sprawled out across the couch to await Rachel's return. The baseball on the tv couldn't hold his attention enough to keep him from starting at every small sound from outside, but when the front door finally banged open, it wasn't Rachel who strode in. Paul sank back down on the couch, disappointed. "Oh, it's you."

Jacob stopped dead in the doorway, staring with darkly narrowed eyes at his packmate. "I could say the same. Where's Rachel?"

God, the reminder. "She's out with my baby sister."

Even Jacob – miserable, self-obsessive moron that he was – nearly cracked a smile at that, and Paul sighed. "Go on, laugh," he grimaced. "But just remember, it's _your _sister I'm – "

"Shut the hell up, Paul." It came out in a growl, and the boy felt marginally better that there was somebody quite possibly worse off than him at the moment. Paul supposed that it really must be hell to have someone imprint on your sister, not to mention at the same time as having your ex almost-girlfriend run off to marry a leech. If you asked Paul (which nobody did) Jake was a bloody idiot to have gone and fallen in love with that Swan girl in the first place.

At least he hadn't imprinted on her. That would have really – _ha ha _– sucked.

Paul opened his mouth to repeat the joke, but Jake gave a snarl before he could speak. "Whatever you're thinking," the other boy grated out between gritted teeth, "_don't freaking say it_."

"Spoilsport." Paul grinned widely. He was rewarded with an angry growl as Jake stomped – really, stomped, and he could do it as well as Haley did in her tantrums – from the room. His bedroom door slammed behind him, and Paul settled back down comfortably to watch the baseball. See? He was being nice, he hadn't said it.

It was half an hour later when Jake slammed back out of his room. Paul absently mused the fact that if all sixteen year-olds sulked like this, he couldn't really blame Rachel for her fixation on his age; hell, he'd probably acted like this too less than a fortnight ago. Had he really changed that much, just from imprinting? He wasn't aware of being very different beside the greater self-control, the attempt at anger management, unpacking the shopping...aw, crap. He'd been so _normal_ before, and that was Paul the teenage werewolf speaking. God, he must have been bloody obnoxious. No wonder Jake suddenly seemed so childish.

"Jeez, Paul, don't you freaking have a home of your own?"

Paul shrugged. He did, but the Blacks' house was generally so much more desirable. Except when Jake was there, of course, or Billy, and the tv at his place was better....damn. He'd do anything to avoid admitting, even to himself, that he liked the smell of the place here. _Her_ scent permeated every room, although that was something Paul would never allow himself to think out loud. God, he was pathetic. He shoved a whole chip into his mouth reflectively.

"You better've brought those with you."

"Nope. Your sister said to go ahead and help myself to anything I wanted." Okay, so maybe he'd grown up _some_ but there were still moments when Paul liked deliberately acting like a kid. Rachel wasn't here, after all, so he didn't have to constantly watch his behaviour in order to convince her that he was mature for his age. He didn't mind doing it, and it was coming more naturally (maybe he was actually growing up some, but that thought made Paul shudder) but it was still good sometimes to just _be_.

"Is Rachel here now?"

_You'd have heard her, asshole_. No, Rachel wasn't home – how long did it take to dump Hales off at some kid's house? Jeez, she obviously didn't follow Paul's normal dump-and-run method – and it was obvious from Jake's tone that he was spoiling for a fight. Defensively shoving the chips behind him, Paul readied himself for battle. "Bring it, _kid_. I don't need Rachel to protect me."

"Right. Like you wouldn't go crying to her first chance."

Paul had forgotten how much fun it could be teasing Jake. He relaxed back into the couch, laughing, and remembered a time when the two of them would have already been through the coffee table at this point. "I'm not going to tattle to a girl. If you got in a lucky hit, that would just be between the two of us. And vice versa, right?" God, he wanted to smack Jake's head in for all of the times the other boy had managed to interrupt moments when Rachel's resistance to his age had wavered, but the tension had dropped from Jake's shoulders so Paul guessed there wouldn't be a fight today.

"Right."

Paul didn't even see Jake's fist coming; it blurred out of nowhere, landing with a sickening _crack_ on his nose as pain blossomed. For a moment, his vision reddened and he tried to lunge for the other boy, but Jake danced back with the crushed bag of chips clutched triumphantly in his hands. _Damn._

"You broke my nose, idiot!" Rachel was going to kill him, Paul thought with satisfaction. If she'd just walk through that front door _now,_ she'd plainly see that Jake had been the antagonist and he was merely a victim.

"Just between us, right, Paul?" Bloody jerk. Even as Paul twisted his nose back into position so that it would heal straight – and that shit _hurt_ – Jake sauntered back into the kitchen, returning without the chips. He hadn't even wanted to eat the things.

"You're such a pain, Jacob. I swear, I'd rather hang out with Leah." Actually, it was true, because at least the girl was funny for all of the snark-filled comments she made at his expense. Besides, Rachel liked her, so hanging out with the only female werewolf made her happy, and when Rachel was happy...

"Ouch. Wow, I bet Leah's really going to love to hear that you want to spend some quality time with her. It'll just warm the cockles of her heart."

Paul winced. "You're going to forget I said that." Leah wasn't above reporting him to Rachel, and if _she_ heard that he'd been saying anything about her best girlfriend he was screwed.

"Of course. I'm sure it won't slip out." Paul was sure Jake must have been adopted. There was no way he and Rachel were actually related.

"Ugh." There was really nothing more that Paul wanted than to beat Jake's face into a bloody pulp with his bare hands (_hey, he'll heal quickly enough that Rach never needs to know_) but there was that little nagging voice which told him that Rachel wanted him to play nice. Right now, he wanted to get a shotgun and take aim at it, but making his imprint happy was far more important. "You're fast, kid. I'll give you that." Wow, he even managed to sound almost sincere.

After a moment's silence in which Paul gave every appearance of turning all of his attention to the baseball game on the tv – the Mets were kicking ass – he heard Jake stalk back off to his bedroom, mumbling something under his breath about alien abductions. _Where the hell did that come from?_

It was a damn shame his nose would be completely healed by the time Rachel got back. She'd see the blood on his shirt, though, so that was something.

Ten minutes later, when Paul heard Jacob climb out of his bedroom window with a parting shot of _get out of my house_, Rachel still hadn't arrived. The absence of anyone else in the house allowed Paul to leap up from the couch, pacing worriedly backwards and forwards as he wavered between going out to look for her in case something had happened or staying here and waiting for her to come. Dreadful scenarios raced though his mind, each worse than the last; a flat tyre, a head-on traffic collision, a hitch-hiker with a knife or gun, a vampire...

When the phone rang, he raced across the room and snatched it up before the second ring. "Rachel?"

"Uh...no, it's Charlie. Charlie Swan."

"Oh." His heart plummeted, before jerking almost instantaneously back into his throat. "What's happened? Have you heard from Rachel?"

"What? No." The Chief sounded strange, but Paul was too relieved to take much note. If Chief Swan had been calling to say something had happened to Rachel... "Is this Jacob?

"No, it's Paul."

"Jake's friend?"

"Actually, I'm Rachel's boyfriend." _Boyfriend_ was a title Rachel hadn't actually accepted yet; funny how she was fine with _imprint_ or _mate_ but shied away from a more conventional relationship. Not that there was anything conventional about their situation.

"Right." There was a pause. "Is Billy there?"

"He's out at the moment." Trying to remember the manners his mother had attempted to stamp into him over the years, Paul added, "Can I take a message?"

"Do you know where I can reach him?" The man sounded oddly strangled.

"Sorry. I dunno when he'll be back, either."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Okay, then. I...bye."

He hung up before Paul could reply. Well, that was weird.

Paul had barely set the phone back down again when it rang once more. This time, however, he waited two rings before picking it up. "Hello?"

"Paul, is that you?"

_God. Thank God. _"Rachel! Are you okay, where are you? Has the car broken down? What happened? Thank God you rang, are you –"

"Jeez, Paul. Calm down." Laughter bubbled in her voice. "I'm fine, and so is the car. I'm sorry it's taking so long...Hales and I got a little carried away with our girl-time." A giggle sounded in the background, and Paul's mouth dropped open dumbly. _Hales?_ God, it was worse than he thought.

"Okay, so you are...where exactly?"

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. I'm at Molly's house...I'm having my nails painted."

Paul sunk down weakly onto the couch. "Haley and Molly are painting your nails." It didn't sound like she was fine to him. It sounded like torture.

"Yes." Rachel giggled – actually giggled. "Mine are pink, Haley's are purple. I just wanted to let you know I'll be a while longer...are you okay? You don't have to wait around for me."

"It's fine. I'll be here." _Rachel and Haley are painting their nails._

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I'll be here when you get back, I promise."

"Thanks, Paul. I –" Her voice died off awkwardly. Neither of them were entirely certain what to say to end the call; they were beyond a casual _see you later_, but hadn't reached the _no, you hang up first_ stage.

"Yeah. Bye, Rach, have fun." He cringed.

"Yeah. You too, Paul."

Paul was, apparently, a pro at awkward phone calls.

With a groan, the boy slumped back down on the couch, wondering when exactly he'd get the hang of this imprinting thing. It was far, far harder than he'd ever imagined it would be.

* * *

**Please review! I'll try extra hard to write an outtake...and it'll probably be back with Haley or Rachel, because I just love those two girlies xxx :)**

**And OMG I've just noticed! First reviewer after I've posted this chapter will bring this story to 100 reviews - you guys are AWESOME! (-- me being riiculously excited about this)  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: And yet another update...chapter thirteen. This was actually pretty difficult to write, as it's hard to incorporate bits of the book without quoting entire conversations (which would be boring for both you and me).**

**A massive thank you to everyone who's reviewed – as promised, I wrote the outtake with the conversation between Rachel and Haley! It was fun...**

**Little note here. This is the last chapter before I go back into serious RL – school restarts this week, so although I'm hoping to continue updating regularly, there may be a few issues along the way. If my workload starts getting out of hand, I'll try to warn you – but I'm afraid schoolwork comes first!**

**Ooh! And I'm really excited...this fic has been nominated in the Wolfpack awards at wwwDOTwolfpackawardsDOTwebsDOTcom as Best Imprint and Best WIP. Another of my fics, **_**Sidelined**_**, is up for Best Outtake. I'll see if I can work out how to put a link on my profile...voting is open, and I'd love it if you went to vote for the authors there! And if you fancy checking out **_**Sidelined, **_**the link's on my profile. I love that little story.**

**Anyway, enjoy! Please let me know what you think – is the way I'm including canon events and dialogue from BD okay? Let me know...review! xxx :)**

**

* * *

  
**

_Paul had barely set the phone back down again when it rang once more. "Hello?"_

"_Paul, is that you?"_

God. Thank God._ "Rachel! Are you okay, where are you? Has the car broken down? What happened? Thank God you rang, are you –"_

"_Jeez, Paul. Calm down." Laughter bubbled in her voice. "I'm fine, and so is the car. I'm sorry it's taking so long...Hales and I got a little carried away with our girl-time. I just wanted to let you know I'll be a while longer...are you okay? You don't have to wait around for me."_

"_It's fine. I'll be here." Rachel and Haley are painting their nails._

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Absolutely. I'll be here when you get back, I promise."_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter Thirteen**

The third call of the evening came in the form of a wolf's howl ripping through the quiet of the forest. It had Paul leaping up from the couch where he was still waiting for Rachel's return, had him running at full speed towards the door with his fingers already flying to pull off his shirt.

It was an emergency call, the equivalent of a nine-one-one; the Alpha wanted them.

_What about Rachel?_

The boy skidded to a halt on the porch, grabbing hold of the doorframe to halt his momentum. The wood buckled under his grip, but Paul didn't notice; two compulsions were warring within him, indecision between unquestioning obedience to his Alpha and care for his mate.

The air was rent once more by another howl, and Paul's decision was made for him when his body began to shake, instinct overwhelming thought as he staggered towards the cover of the trees in order to get out of sight. He was going to phase anyway – the compulsion was too strong, overriding any lingering doubts Paul had about protecting Rachel, and he fell to all four paws in the forest and began to run. He'd be better able to look after his mate with the pack, Paul reasoned to himself. If something had happened, the pack had to deal with it together, one whole fighting as a primal machine in order to –

_Jeez, Paul, you've been watching too much tv again._ Embry sounded disgusted. He too was running through trees – moving too quickly for Paul to gauge exactly whereabouts he was – towards the central concentration of thought, where the Alpha waited. There was a buzz of the other wolves in the pack mind; he could pick out Collin, Brady and Seth alongside Embry and the Alpha.

_Rich coming from you, Embry, the mommy's boy who sits on his fat ass whenever he's not doing patrol because he doesn't have anyone else to hang out with._

_Whatever, Paul. The only reason you have anyone to hang out with at all is because you imprinted on the girl, so she's stuck with you. She doesn't even want to be on the rez._

That struck a sore point with Paul. He knew that Rachel had avoided La Push for years, that she'd done everything she could to stay away – holiday jobs, extra credit courses – anything but come home to the place she'd grown up. And finally, the one time that she had, Paul had imprinted on her. Paul, the sixteen year-old werewolf destined to spend his life protecting the very place she didn't want to stay.

Sure, she'd said that first time on the beach when they'd met that she loved the place...but she didn't want to _live _here.

_Oh, quit the pity party,_ Embry complained.

_You're just jealous that you haven't imprinted_, Paul retorted. It was a low blow, because they all knew that Embry felt left out and wanted a mate of his own like Sam, Quil, Jared and now Paul had found.

Embry was just gathering his thoughts for a suitable reply when the Alpha's growl rumbled through the mind. _Both of you, cease_.

_Sorry,_ they muttered together like guilty schoolboys.

Leah chose this moment to phase, slipping flawlessly into the pack mind from a point in the forest a little behind her house. Paul could see the trees which blurred past her as clearly as the ones around him, feel the pounding rhythm of her paws on the ground as surely as his own. Unconsciously, each altered their stride slightly to match the other's; Embry's steps, too, hit the earth in perfect synchronisation. _What'd I miss?_ She didn't bother with a greeting.

_Paul's bitter because he's got a mate and he's _still_ not getting any,_ Seth blurted quickly. Leah's amusement was a howl in the quiet forest, and even the two youngest wolves sniggered. Paul ran through a series of possible ways to murder the other boy, before another growl from Sam silenced them all.

_Shut the hell up, all of you._

Jake chose that moment to shift, and everyone's heads were abruptly filled with images of the leech-lover, the leech-lover's wedding, the desire to kill That Bloodsucker, and a wave of resentment directed towards Sam for stopping him from destroying said bloodsucker at afore-mentioned leech-lover's wedding. Paul rolled his (figurative) eyes, but it was Leah who voiced the pack's thoughts.

_So self absorbed all the time._

Jake's reply was instantaneous. _Yeah, no hypocrisy there, Leah._

_Can it, guys_, Sam snarled.

It was always worse when there were lots of them phased, Paul reflected. The constant babble of thoughts in the background was obviously worse than when there were only two or three of them. Right now, for example, he could pick out what Collin had for dinner last night, the girl from school Brady had had to blow off to patrol with Sam (jeez, phasing early meant that the kid was getting way more attention from starry-eyed girls than Paul ever had at that age), and a rather vague idea of Quil dressed up as a princess, wherever the hell that had come from. In addition to far more trivia about his packmates than Paul ever wished to know, there was also the constantly changing tide of emotion which battered him from all sides.

There were the little pockets of self-pity and resentment (Leah and Jake), exasperation (Sam) and puppyish excitement (would Seth ever grow up?). Then there was curiosity, magnified by every member of the pack, an anticipation that _something_ big was happening.

Yet another howl from the Alpha cut through the mental noise, but the expectant tension only increased. _'Sup, boss? _Paul asked.

They'd all been expecting news of the bloodsucker's return with his leech-lover. Exactly how or when it would occur had been entirely open to speculation – mostly from Jacob, because the others really didn't give that much of a shit and Jake wondered enough about it for all of them anyway. The only thing Paul really thought as Seth related the story of Bella Swan's apparent illness was that Charlie's weirdness on the phone earlier at the Blacks' house was probably fairly well justified. Did he have any clue at all that his daughter had married a bloodsucker? How could he not? Having said that, Paul's own family lived with a werewolf and were none the wiser.

Honestly, why was Jake so worked up about the whole situation? It was going to happen. His precious Bella wasn't going to spend the rest of eternity on her honeymoon – but the word _honeymoon_ brought Rachel firmly back into Paul's mind, and he wondered briefly if she would ever want to marry _him_. That, of course, led onto the idea of a wedding...and a honeymoon of their own...and –

Leah sent him a sharp mental nudge, a sideways glance. Oh, right. He was supposed to be paying attention to the pack meeting – they'd moved onto something aboutswinging by Kim's and dragging Jared out with their teeth (that was Jake, of course) because _we're going to need everyone._

Whoa. What was that? Despite being immeasurably grateful that they hadn't been paying attention, Jake in particular, to Paul's own little fantasies, the boy sort of wished he'd been listening. From the sound of things, Jake was gearing up for an all-out war on the Cullens...and Sam was disagreeing.

_Times have changed since our ancestors made the treaty_, Sam said._ I...well, I don't honestly believe that the Cullens are a danger to us._

Once, Paul would have been clamouring for a fight by this point. Not a danger? Of course the Cullens were a danger, they were bloody vampires! Pun intended, of course. But they'd be moving on soon...and if the pack attacked, it would be war.

_Are you so ready to lose a brother? Or a sister? _Sam's train of thought seemed to be following Paul's exactly, and all around the circle they had gathered in the other wolves were agreeing. They'd seen the Forks bloodsuckers fighting, seen how effective killing machines they were, and no matter how well designed the pack was for destroying vampires there were bound to be casualties.

_I'm not afraid to die_, Jake snarled. For a split second, Paul considered suggesting that Jacob do just that, but then he remembered that the boy was Rachel's sister and she'd be sad about it. Probably.

The consideration of war, of losing pack members (even Jake) had opened Paul's mind to another possibility; what if _he_ was killed in action? What if a vampire – a Cullen or otherwise – got in a lucky shot and it was _his_ body carried home lifeless and bloody? Rachel – what would happen to her? He was her soulmate, the other half of her; could she get over it, carry on without him? The grief that struck Paul at the concept of Rachel being defenceless, utterly alone without him to look after her, was almost crippling, and Leah had to nudge him sharply again to bring him back to his senses.

Almost immediately, Paul was hit by a wave of the Alpha's authority, the tone of command which could not be negotiated. _The pack is not attacking the Cullens without provocation. The spirit of the treaty remains. They are not a danger to our people, nor are they a danger to the people of Forks. Bella Swan made an informed choice,, and we are not going to punish our former allies for her choice._

_Hear, hear,_ Seth enthused, and Paul agreed whole-heartedly. Normally that would have embarrassed him, but there was far too much at stake here. Imprinting had changed his perspective on everything.

_I thought I told you to shut it, Seth_. Paul agreed with Sam, too. Damn, he'd become suddenly agreeable. That wasn't good. _Jacob, where do you think you're going?_

Rachel's brother had turned his back on them, was moving away; Paul would have been content to just let the boy sulk off by himself in his own little strop, but the Alpha wasn't as willing to drop the issue so easily. _Just let him go!_ Paul wanted to say. Jacob's back was, after all, his best side. At least it wasn't his damn face.

_I'm going to tell my father goodbye,_ Jake huffed. _Apparently there was no purpose in me sticking around this long._

Some part of Paul was dancing in celebration, but he kept that tightly wrapped down inside him. He'd wait to get the trumpets out later and have his own party then – hell, he was feeling magnanimous. Leah and the others could come too.

_Aw, Jake – don't do that again!_

_Shut up, Seth!_ Seth wasn't invited to the party, but luckily his entreaty to Jake had been ignored. Paul's sense of satisfaction rose as Jake carried on running back towards his house, and he could have sworn that there was a grin on Leah's muzzle too. Admittedly, her wolfy smile was a little odd, and the sharply pointed teeth ruined the impression of happiness somewhat, but the thought was there.

_Jacob's running off again!_ the two of them crowed, only to receive simultaneous dirty looks from Sam, Quil and Seth.

_Shut up, morons, _Quil snapped. _It's not a good thing._

_Oh, yeah. We'll have to listen to him whining for months now. _Brady's head drooped.

_You can shut up too, _Seth hissed. _And Paul, I don't know what _you're_ so happy about. Rachel isn't going to be exactly jumping for joy that you drove her brother away again, when he's only been back about a week._

_I don't know, _Leah laughed. _She's not terribly happy about him being _here_, especially as he keeps getting in the way of her special alone time with puppy boy here._

_Aw, crap!_ Paul was already running, following Jake's route through the forest as fast as his four legs could carry him. _Rachel! Where is she?_

_Jeez, Paul, you forgot about your girlfriend?_ Leah's tone was laden with disgust. _You are in such deep shit._

The boy considered a suitably caustic reply before realising that he probably deserved everything Leah said right now. He had, after all, promised Rachel that he'd be waiting for her when he arrived back; the sky had already begun to darken, and although Paul had no idea as the precise time he was certain that it was far later than he'd intended. Some part of him knew that Rachel would have returned home, and he wondered what she'd have done when she discovered his absence.

He remembered how he'd felt when she hadn't come home – the dread, the utter horror at the concept of not knowing where she was or if anything had happened – and he worried what she would think. Maybe she didn't love him yet, but she was his imprint, his mate. There was a bond between them, invisible and intangible but _there_ nonetheless. Paul couldn't wait until Rachel accepted its existence.

_I liked you so much better before,_ Leah grumbled darkly.

_I don't know. He was just as much of a pain then as he is now...where's the difference?_ Quil 'shrugged'.

_Paul, make sure Billy knows what's going on,_ Sam ordered. _And keep an eye on Jacob._

_Sure thing, boss_. Paul turned all of his concentration to listening; the super-sensitive hearing he had acquired upon phasing was capable of picking up every little sound in the forest around him and beyond, and he used it now in an attempt to pick out any sign of Rachel.

His paws carried him through the forests behind a long row of houses; voices murmured from inside, little snippets of conversation completely audible to him.

"Darling, I'm not sure we can afford –"

"Mom, can I go out tomorrow to –"

"_And today the Mets beat the Dodgers..._"

"Dinner's on the table, Molly! Haley!" A second's pause told Paul that Rachel definitely wasn't still with his little sister, and he bit back a curse. Where was she?

Luckily, the road followed around through the forest, so Paul loped alongside it under the tree cover. Two cars swept past, their headlights skipping past him, but their license numbers were unfamiliar and neither of them held any interest. He would have paid as little note to the third car, too, had a break in the foliage overhead not allowed a thin strip of dusky light to filter through onto the face of the driver.

The car came to a screeching halt only inches from the massive wolf which threw itself out into the road in front of it, Rachel's face stunned and pale as she clutched the steering wheel with whitened, trembling fingers.

_That possibly wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Paul._ Leah's exasperation was plain to hear in her 'voice', but Paul ignored her. He was already regretting giving Rachel what was, from the expression on her face, the shock of her life, and he didn't need reminding of it. Damn, couldn't he make mistakes on his own time, just once? But no...there always seemed to be somebody around to comment on it.

_Hey, just saying,_ Leah retorted.

Rachel seemed to have gathered enough composure now to be able to climb out of the car; Paul trotted eagerly to meet her, but he wasn't expecting the outburst he was greeted with,

"_Fuck_, Paul!" she hissed furiously. "What the hell are you playing at? Jesus Christ..." The girl paused to take a few deep breaths, colour seeping gradually back into cheeks whitened with shock. "Jesus," she repeated more quietly. "God. No, don't," she added as he stepped closer to nuzzle at her face with his nose. "I just need a moment."

Paul waited anxiously. He hated that Rachel had covered her face with both hands, because it meant that he couldn't see her eyes; wished that he was in his human form so that he could comfort her. Unfortunately, his clothes lay abandoned in messy piles leading from her front door to the forest...

Somewhere else in La Push, Leah sighed. _God, you didn't, did you? Boys._

"Paul, I –" Rachel stopped speaking almost as quickly as she'd started. "Shit, I feel like such an idiot. Isn't there any way you can change back? And you _are_ Paul, aren't you?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Look, hold on a moment. There's a picnic blanket in the trunk – God only knows why, it's not like the weather here'll ever be good enough for one – and I need to pull over to the side of the road. We need to talk."

His heart plummeted. Was this the moment when she realised that he wasn't good enough for her, that being the mate of a werewolf really wasn't what she wanted to be? Was she going to tell him that she couldn't stay in La Push, couldn't be with him? What with Jake's defection, the pack couldn't afford the loss of another wolf – and Paul _would_ follow Rachel if she left.

"Here." Rachel held a brightly patterned bundle out to him, and he ducked to take it gently between his teeth, nose brushing against her arm as he did so. Even that tiny contact made him feel infinitely better, but there was still the numbness of worry. "You go ahead and change. We should get away from the road." Her hands stroked along the side of his muzzle as though she had to convince herself that he was real; neither of them moved for a long moment. "Go on," Rachel whispered at last. "I'll be right behind you."

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading! Please review, and remember to check out the Wolfpack awards (wwwDOTwolfpackawardsDOTwebsDOTcom) xxx :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: I know, I know. It's nearly been two weeks. But I am updating! And this is the longest chapter yet by far...**

**Thank you to everybody who reviewed! There weren't too many this week...and I have to say that they really are what keeps me writing at the moment. If I was doing this for me (no fanfic author writes totally for themselves, no matter what they say) I'd probably put this story off until Christmas break. So...if you'd like me to keep updating, let me know!**

**That came out sounding far more like a threat than I meant it too. It really wasn't.**

**Anyway, looking forward to hearing from you all *hint* and hope you enjoy the chapter! Voting's still open for the Wolfpack Awards if you fancy checking that out too *cough* wwwDOTwolfpackawardsDOTwebsDOTcom *cough***

**Thank you! xxx :)**

**

* * *

**"_Paul, I –" Rachel stopped speaking almost as quickly as she'd started. "Look, hold on a moment. There's a picnic blanket in the trunk – God only knows why, it's not like the weather here'll ever be good enough for one – and I need to pull over to the side of the road. We need to talk."_

_His heart plummeted. Was this the moment when she realised that he wasn't good enough for her, that being the mate of a werewolf really wasn't what she wanted to be? Was she going to tell him that she couldn't stay in La Push, couldn't be with him? What with Jake's defection, the pack couldn't afford the loss of another wolf – and Paul would follow Rachel if she left._

"_Here." Rachel held a brightly patterned bundle out to him, and he ducked to take it gently between his teeth, nose brushing against her arm as he did so. Even that tiny contact made him feel infinitely better, but there was still the numbness of worry. "You go ahead and change. We should get away from the road." Her hands stroked along the side of his muzzle as though she had to convince herself that he was real; neither of them moved for a long moment. "Go on," Rachel whispered at last. "I'll be right behind you."_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter Fourteen**

Even in his human form, Paul's senses were sufficiently advanced for him to be able to follow her scent and the slight sounds of movement to where Rachel stood staring with awe up at the wide trunk of a magnificently huge tree. "It must be ancient," she murmured without looking around at him, and Paul marvelled that she had even sensed his presence. "It's beautiful." She turned, then, her eyes drinking him in as if she couldn't believe that she was really seeing him.

"Yeah, it's really...old." He didn't know what to say. The fearful anticipation of what Rachel was going to tell him clouded his mind so that he couldn't think of anything else. How could he discuss a tree at a time like this?

Rachel took three small, tentative steps closer to him, lifted her arm to lay the palm of one hand flat against Paul's cheek. "You're really okay," she whispered. "I thought...God, I don't know what I thought."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he apologised, turning his face slightly so that he could press a kiss to the soft inside of her wrist.

"Where were you?" Rachel demanded. "I came back, and there were your clothes scattered everywhere – there's a dent in the doorframe, and I thought you were hurt. I thought something had happened. God, I was worried sick..." She stepped even closer to wrap her arms tightly around him, held on as if she never wanted to let go. Paul's own arms came up after a second's hesitation to rest around her waist, the soft fragility of her body next to his a comfort that he never wanted to lose.

The boy dipped his head down, ears brushing lightly over her ear as he murmured, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you scared..."

"I wasn't scared." The reply came out quickly, almost as a reflex, and hung in the air between them for a moment before Rachel leaned into Paul again, her head against his chest. "All right, I was. If anything happened to you..." She paused, drew in a deep, shuddering breath which Paul could feel. "It's always going to be like this, isn't it?" Rachel murmured. "I'm never going to know where you are, what you're doing...when you're coming home."

"I'll always come home," Paul promised, his voice rough. But even as he spoke the words he remembered again his previous worry, the crushing realisation that he might _not_ – that the dangerous world which he was a part of might one day keep him from her forever.

"It's always going to be there, though." Rachel pulled back, wiping briskly at the tears Paul hadn't even realised she'd been crying. Feeling terrible for not noticing, he brushed one thumb gently over the tear-tracks on her cheeks, saw her shaky smile. "I'm fine. But don't you dare ever jump out in front of a car like that again, mine or anyone's."

Paul smiled, grateful that she seemed to be all right once more. He wasn't very good at dealing with crying girls. "Rach, I told you earlier. It takes a lot more than a car or a silver bullet to kill _me_."

"Don't make it sound like a challenge." But she grinned. "So, are you going to tell me why you decided to strip on your way to the woods? Couldn't you even wait long enough to get under cover, or do you have a secret double life as an exhibitionist?"

Paul tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind Rachel's ear with one finger. "Tease. Sam called us away for an emergency meeting."

Immediately, the woman's brow creased, smile dropping from her face. "What's happened? Is everyone okay?"

If it was possible, Paul fell in love with her a little more in that moment for her concern. "They're fine," he soothed her. "Well...there is a problem," he amended.

"Can I do anything?" Rachel asked instantly. "Although...I guess I won't be able to help. You big, strong werewolf types are probably better able to deal with it than me."

Paul winced. "Actually, it's a little...uh...more complicated. It's to do with Jacob." He was oddly gratified by the woman's eye roll

"What's the boy done now?"

"Uh..." Paul considered editing the situation for her, but decided that she deserved the whole truth. After all, he couldn't lie to her, and how could he only tell her some of what was going on? "The girl Jake thinks he's in love with has gone off and married a bloodsucker. Turns out they've just got back from their honeymoon, and she's being turned into a leech, which is against the treaty. But we're not attacking them, and Jake's running off again. Possibly to Alaska, he didn't say."

There was a long silence in which Rachel merely stared at him. She opened her mouth once or twice to speak, closing it quickly each time and swallowing nervously. With remarkable self-restraint, Paul managed not to tell her how much she looked like a fish; a very _pretty_ fish, of course, but he still sensed that she wouldn't appreciate it all that much.

"Jake had a girlfriend?" When Rachel _did_ finally get some words out, they weren't the ones he was expecting.

"No. Well, not exactly. See, the leech was with her first...and then he left her, so Jake was hanging out with her. He fell in love with her, kissed her, she punched him. Then the bloodsucker came back and the Swan girl ran right back to him before telling Jake she loved _him_ too. But in the end she married the vampire."

"Oh, Jakey." Suddenly, inexplicably, Rachel's lower lip trembled, and Paul panicked. She wasn't going to start crying again, was she? He couldn't cope with girls crying all of the time.

"It's not like he imprinted on her," the boy blurted desperately. It was the wrong thing to say; the look which Rachel turned on him was decidedly _not_ happy, and he cringed beneath her glare.

"That really isn't the point, Paul," she snapped. "Simply because the person you love isn't your soulmate – and god knows people seem to fall in love with enough assholes – doesn't mean that it hurts any less when you have to let them go. Sure, he'll get over her eventually, but the fact that he'll probably find someone else way more perfect for him won't make it magically better _now_."

Paul had the uncomfortable feeling that he'd just been called an asshole, but he wasn't certain so he decided not to say anything. "I'm not saying that Jake isn't hurt," he protested. "It's just...well, it's _different_ when you imprint. And I'm not just saying that, it _is_."

"_I_ think that it sounds like a cheap excuse to get girls to hang out with you," Rachel replied hotly. "The whole 'oh, I'm your soulmate and I'll _never_ leave you' line is a little overused, Paul."

He stared at her for a moment, his jaw dropped open in shock and horror. "Is that...is that what you think?" he managed at last in a strangled whisper. "Do you honestly believe –"

"No." Rachel dragged both hands back through her hair in frustration. "God, no. I just...it's difficult, you know?" she replied after a second. "It's hard to put all of your trust in something you don't really understand. I left the rez, I went away to college, and it's like that's a whole different world. There are things possible here which are completely...I don't _know_. This, here, is everything that I've spent the last few year not believing. And now suddenly I'm plunged right into the middle of something which shouldn't exist, which isn't..." She shrugged helplessly.

Paul didn't say anything. He was hurt, yes, but there was another part of him which knew that Rachel had to talk her own way through her dilemma; work it out for herself once and for all. If saying it aloud helped her, well – he'd stand and listen. It was a little painful to hear her discuss it all like this, as if he was a liar or an impossibility or just _wrong, _but he let her do it anyway. The old Paul would have arguing with her every step of the way, but the new one – the boy who had imprinted – knew that angry words wouldn't help.

"I had a roommate in college," Rachel spoke slowly. "She'd been raised as a devout Catholic – rosary, Hail Marys and all. But you know something? If she bumped into Jesus walking down a corridor, I don't know what she'd do. If she could see him – speak to him – have all that confirmation of his existence, she'd probably still freak out. It's the _knowing_ that's enough...but never expecting to ever actually be faced with it." She took a deep breath. "It's sort of like that. Dad told me the stories, and I always knew he believed them, but they were...stories. Just myths, ideals. Whether I believed in them or not didn't matter, because I was never going to have to _see_ them."

"Except now you do." It wasn't a question or a demand, it was simply fact.

"Yes." She let out the breath she'd taken in one long hiss. "It's one hell of a shock to discover it's all real, even if it's something you've believed in all your life."

"I know." Paul looked down at the ground, not trusting his own face not to show the battling emotions which raged within him. He had the most horrible feeling that he was going to cry. "So what are you saying?" he choked out at last.

For a long, agonising moment, Rachel didn't answer. "I guess...after a while...it becomes sort of normal," she replied at last. It sounded like she, too, was struggling to speak, and Paul looked up to see her eyes damp. "That is...if you're sticking around?"

Paul drew her back into his body; she came willingly, turning her head so that her cheek rested flat against his chest, right over his heart. "In what world would I possibly want to leave?"

They stayed like that for a while, his nose nestled happily into her hair. Paul loved the feel of her so close to him, how she seemed to fit exactly against him; how their heartbeats thudded in unison, breaths slowing to match one another.

"Paul?" she tilted her head back a little to look at him.

"Rachel."

"I...I like you." She blushed, and his heart soared. "God, I feel like I'm five. I –"

Paul pressed his mouth gently to hers to cut off the flow of her words. "I like you too," he murmured against her lips. It was enough for now.

"If you hadn't imprinted on me, would you still? No," Rachel added quickly as he opened his mouth instantly to reply, "really. I won't be offended if..." She shrugged uncomfortably.

"Honestly?" Paul considered it for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe...maybe not. I probably wouldn't have had the courage to actually approach you – although, having said that, I _was_ coming to talk to you on the beach. I dunno...I'd have probably run as soon as I realised you were Jake's sister, to be perfectly honest."

"You two really don't get along, do you?" She smiled wryly.

"Uh...not really. I'm trying, though," he added – almost truthfully.

"I know. Thank you." The woman reached up on tip-toes to brush a soft kiss over his lips. "So you're saying that Jake would have scared you off me?"

"Not _scared_," Paul retorted in automatic defence. "Without the imprint, though, he'd be too much hassle. I'm sorry. The thing is, though, is that your imprint is the person best suited to _you_. Sort of like the other half of you, the one you were made to...uh...live for? God, I don't know. So even if I wasn't a werewolf, you'd still be perfect for me. I just might not have seen it."

"That would've been a pity." Rachel's finger ran in lazy circles right over Paul's heart, making his breathing pick up infinitesimally. "So what does it feel like to know that your whole destiny is written out for you – that you have no choice in the person you lo...like?"

Paul intertwined his fingers through hers, lifted them to his lips. "You tell me."

"But..._you're_ the one who...I didn't imprint...did I?" The woman stared at his with wide, astonished eyes. "That's not possible. _You_ imprinted."

"Theoretically, yes. But would you normally look twice at a sixteen year-old? Let one walk you home?" One eyebrow quirked a little, his head cocked to one side. "How many have you kissed in your brother's garage in a thunderstorm? Jeez, don't answer that one, actually. I don't want to know."

"Damn. You make good points. As for thunderstorms...are you sure you don't want to know?" She eyed him wickedly, a spark of mischief glittering in her dark eyes. "Because thunderstorms are great mood-setters, you know. All you have to do is pretend to be afraid, and you can get almost any boy to put his arms around you...pull you onto his lap..."

She gave a squeal as Paul dragged her right up against him once more, lowered his head so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "Teasing a werewolf isn't a very good idea, you know, babe."

"Teasing you? Am I? I'm just telling you about how storms tend to make boys very...accommodating. You see, it's perfectly acceptable for girls to be afraid of thunder, but the boys have to pretend to be big and strong – even when they're scared too. So they never object when you snuggle in close and –"

"Stop talking._ Now_." The words came out as a growl, the grip around her waist tightening slightly in angry possession.

"Why would I want to do that?" she breathed. "I'm just saying –"

"I'm serious, Rachel." The thought of her with anybody else infuriated Paul, his blood boiling at the idea that any other man would ever go near her; he was struck with an animalistic desire to mark her as his, but since the only way he could think of right now would probably lead to Billy testing the silver bullet theory, he decided not to. Maybe Haley had a Sharpie at home that he could use.

"Really?" She smirked. "You're really cute when you're jealous."

A strangled half-growl choked Paul's throat. "That wasn't funny."

Rachel leaned in, set her lips to the pressure-point in the hollow of his neck. "I like the growl, too," she breathed, and without even waiting for him to reply she scraped her teeth lightly across the skin of his throat.

"Jesus, Rach!" Paul jerked backwards in shock. "Warn a guy before you do something like that!" With his back to her, he took several deep breaths to clear his head of the intoxicating scent which hung about Rachel's hair, clothes, skin. It didn't really help, because he could sense her close behind him, and he hated how vulnerable she could make him feel. It probably didn't help, of course, that he was clad in only a plaid picnic blanket wrapped low around his hips. Even running around in the forest naked didn't make him feel as exposed as he did right now.

"Paul?" Her voice was concerned, the hand she laid on his shoulder tentative. "Are you okay?"

The boy took one more deep breath which didn't help at all. "I'm fine," he replied, semi-truthfully. "It's just..._god_, Rach. I'm a freaking wolf. If you bite me, I'm going to bite back, and you've made it perfectly clear that you don't want that."

"Oh. _Oh._" She gave a nervous giggle, sounding suddenly like a sixteen year-old herself. "I'm sorry." But when he finally plucked up the courage to turn back to face her the glint in her eyes was anything but contrite.

"Jesus," Paul murmured again. Then, on a groan, "Jake's going to kill me."

"What, and why, are you going to tell my brother? It's not exactly any of his business." Hands on hips, Rachel looked less than amused. "Besides, he's run off, hasn't he?"

"Uh...I can't exactly _help_ him finding out about anything, Rach."

"Why not?" Paul tapped his forehead, but the furrow in her brow only deepened. "I don't understand."

The boy paused, stared at her. He couldn't believe that she didn't know...hadn't he told her? He was sure that he had...but then, it was such a part of his life that maybe he hadn't thought to mention it. "Rach, you _do _know that we communicate telepathically, don't you? Like, in our minds?"

She waved it away with one dismissive flick of her hand which in any other situation would have amused Paul. Such nonchalance about little things like telepathy. "Yes, you told me. What's that got to do with anything? You don't have to _tell_ him anything."

"It doesn't exactly work like that. I'm sure I said something."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "Said something about what?"

"It's not just projecting a sentence into someone's head. It's...well, there's a pack mind. Once you're part of it, everybody sees _everything_. No secrets. Nothing hidden whatsoever."

He watched her mouth drop open in horror, and swallowed nervously.

"So, part of the reason Jake hates me so much is probably because he knows exactly how I feel about you. Everything we've said to each other, everything I think about you."

From the look on Rachel's face, Paul was half convinced that he'd turned into some sort of giant green monster. Self-consciously, he touched his face with one hand to make sure it was still there – it was, but Rachel's horrified stare didn't change.

"Uh...say something, Rach? It's not that big of a deal. It's just –"

"Not that big of a deal?" Her voice rose into a wail, ended on a high-pitched squeak of disbelief. "My brother knows everything I've ever said to you...sees everything you've seen? And you think it's no big deal? Oh, God." The woman buried her face in her hands.

Oh. When she put it that way, he supposed that there was perhaps _something_ wrong with it. Having no privacy was something Paul had become mostly used to over the past year or so, but now that he really thought about it there was definitely something fundamentally wrong about sharing a ,mind with your sister's boyfriend – if that was, indeed, what he was. Making a mental note to sort out that issue sooner rather than later, Paul reached out to gently lift Rachel's hands from her face so that he could see her. She still refused to meet his eyes, blushing furiously.

"It's nothing to worry about. You can't do anything, Rach...it's not your fault." He wasn't sure how exactly he could comfort her, but they were the sorts of things he'd heard guys on tv say when their girls were upset so he thought he'd give it a try.

"I know, but...jeez." She huffed out a breath. "Well, this is awkward."

"Yeah. A bit, I guess."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but made no further comment about it. "We should probably head home. Are you coming back to my place?" she added shyly. "I mean...you can't turn up at home only wearing a blanket. And..well...I liked waking up next to you this morning," the woman finished in a rush.

Paul grinned, lifted her hand and turned it so that he could drop a kiss into her palm. He'd stayed over at her house the night before, curled up uncomfortably in the couch (much to Jake's chagrin). At some point in the early hours of the morning, however, his uneasy rest had been disturbed by the girl who crept in to settle down beside him, clinging close on the pretext that she couldn't sleep.

Billy had been tight-lipped and angry-eyed upon finding them both there, together, but he hadn't said anything.

"I'd love to," Paul replied simply.

But when they got home, nobody was there, and an ominous silence hung over the house. Upon seeing the unplugged telephone – cable missing – Paul knew instantly that something was wrong.

A small scrap of paper caught Rachel's eye where it lay on the coffee table, and whatever it said made her face pale. "Jake, what have you done?" she moaned.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Remember to review, because it really will keep me writing... xxx :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: I know, it's late again. On the bright side, this *is* an update! I should probably be working on an essay right now...but then, my method of balancing RL and FF never ****has ****been terribly great. Actually, I should be asleep as it's 2:30 am...but whatever.**

**Huge, huge thanks to everybody who reviewed last chapter! Knowing that you're out there, reading this, made me get my ass in gear and actually do some writing. Thanks for sticking with me :D**

**If you've got time, please check out the o/s I wrote for the 'Sort of Beautiful' Contest. It's called 'On Record', and yes – it's a Jake fic, but please give it a chance! Voting is open on the Sort of Beautiful profile page, too...I'd love it if I got some votes!**

**In addition, voting opens at 'For the Love of Jasper' profile in a few days' time – another of my one shots, 'My Scars are the Pieces of My Soul', is up there... (coughVOTEPLEASEcough)**

**Oh, and check out The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster blog – cdunbar and moon. witche from the Temptation Podcast wrote an awesome article on Paul, Jared and Quil which you should definitely check out!**

**My ANs are too long. But hope you like the chapter! xxx :)**

**

* * *

  
**

_But when they got home, nobody was there, and an ominous silence hung over the house. Upon seeing the unplugged telephone – cable missing – Paul knew instantly that something was wrong._

_A small scrap of paper caught Rachel's eye where it lay on the coffee table, and whatever it said made her face pale. "Jake, what have you done?" she moaned._

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Rachel, I need you to get over to the Clearwaters' right now." Paul's tone was grim. "Once you do, stay inside. You, your dad, Leah's mom...none of you can leave the house. I'll meet you there."

Eyes wide with fear, Rachel nodded, even as her hands sought out his and clung to them. "Paul, what's going to happen?"

"I don't know." Realising her terror, the boy drew her close for one moment – it was all he could spare – and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "But we'll sort it out, Rach. I promise. I don't know what we're going to do, but we'll find a way to work it out." He hesitated. "If...if we can't get Jake back..."

"God. I can't lose him." Rachel's eyes met his, and they were brimming with sudden tears. "He's my brother, Paul. I can't lose him. If we lost Jake too...it'd kill Dad."

"Rachel. We'll do everything to...we're not just going to _leave_ him. Just be careful, okay? Jake's got a head start on us, god knows when he left here, so...Jesus. Go on, you need to leave. I have to let Sam know what's happened."

Looking suddenly like a little girl, Rachel nodded mutely once more, stumbling towards the door with him close behind. She stopped with one foot outside, half turned back to face him. "You _will_ be careful, won't you?" she pleaded. "I...I couldn't stand to lose you. I can't lose you."

Paul bent to kiss her, agonisingly aware of the seconds he was wasting. "You won't." And then he was running towards the forest again, while she stood on the porch steps with one hand on the door frame as if it was the only thing keeping her upright.

_Sam!_ The plaid picnic blanket Paul had still had wrapped around his waist fell forgotten to the floor amidst the trees as the wolf leapt away. _Sam! Jacob's being an idiot again!_

_What's happened​?_

Even though the Alpha could see the sequence of events in Paul's mind, the boy had to verbalise the thought anyway. _He's gone to the Cullens'._

Sam didn't swear very often – Emily didn't like it – but now he let loose such a varied and interesting range of curses that even Paul's eyes bulged a little._ Pack meeting again,_ Sam growled, and in his head was pictured the place in which they'd gathered earlier even as his howl rang out through the forest. It was the fourth such call of the day, and if they weren't careful there'd be men with guns keeping a wary eye out for any sign of the wild beasts getting too close to the town, but right now the pack had bigger things to worry about.

_I need to stay close to the house,_ Paul replied. _I'll have to let them know what's going on, in case._

Sam hesitated for a split second, before a sharp spark of something like approval flashed over the mind link. For a moment, he seemed almost impressed at Paul's consideration, but in the next instant he was all business again. _Good idea to be close,_ was his only (rather grudging) remark, and Paul bit back a chuckle. His humour didn't last long, though, disturbed by the sudden explosive arrival of Jared and Collin.

_Jeez, what's the problem? _Jared snapped. _Did you have to send the kid over? It's my day off, I was with Kim...oh, shit._ His complaints died on his lips as he saw the replay of the day's events in the pack mind. _Damn. And Jake's gone...? Shit._

That pretty much summed it all up. Even Collin, who wasn't entirely comfortable around the rest of the wolves yet, was included in the camaraderie of disgust emanating from them. All of the boys were furious, picking up on the vibe which Sam was trying, not entirely successfully, to control, but blind rage wasn't going to help anything now.

Seeing as Jake wasn't conveniently near to beat the hell out of, Paul forced himself to take a deep breath, try to calm down. So the situation was this: Jake had gone to pick a fight with the Cullens – all by himself. Who knew what was going to happen now? The boy's mind raced between possibilities, responses, twisting into a muddled tangle of threads criss-crossing over and around one another until he was more confused than before, and he became aware that it wasn't just him theorising. Every single one of them was picturing scenarios – battles, treaties, Jake dead, vampires dead, razing the Cullens' house to the ground, La Push burning, guns firing ineffectually, Kim hurt and bleeding, _Rachel_ screaming as a vampire bent over her...

_Cut it _out! Paul roared suddenly. _This isn't helping! This isn't going to solve anything!_ To his surprise they fell silent, and he could feel their own shock sweeping towards him in waves. _What? _

_Jeez, you've decided to grow up all of a sudden,_ Quil muttered darkly. He still had the horrifying image of a tiny grave playing on a loop through his head, the picture etched as deeply on his mind as the carved words on the headstone reading _Claire Young_. None of the others commented on it; they could feel his agony as acutely as if it were their own.

_We need to regroup, reconsider_, Sam interrupted. The sternness of his tone was welcome, enough to pull the wolves from contemplation of their families' and mates' possible deaths. _That's _not_ going to happen, _the Alpha added firmly. _Where are the others?_

As if the thought had summoned her, Paul was abruptly aware of Leah's form bursting into the woods from her house, thoughts darkly furious_. What the hell is going on now?_ she demanded._ I swear, every time I try to wash my hair...oh, for fuck's sake. That bloody idiot's really gone and done it, hasn't he?_

_Got it in one, _Paul replied with resignation._ Has Rachel – ? _

_No, she hasn't arrived at my house yet, loverboy. And neither's Billy. You think I'd be in the damn shower if – _

_Cool it,_ Sam snapped. _Paul, you need to look around and see where Billy is. We don't know – oh, so good of you two to turn up,_ he added sarcastically as Seth and Embry finally joined the pack awareness. The snide comment was a sign that the Alpha's temper was beginning to get the best of him, and wisely the two boys made no comment.

_Sorry. _Embry managed to sound genuinely apologetic. _We were in the shop..._

_Crap. _Seth had been listening in to the others' thoughts, caught on to the issue. _Jake's actually gone out to the Cullens'? He's going to try and kill Edward? We have to stop him!_

_If you could please get your leechloving tendencies under control for _one_ minute, Seth,_ his sister snarled, and there were a few growls along a similar vein from a few of the others. _I know you've got some sort of creepy crush on the bloodsucker, but –_

_Shut the hell up!_ Jared hissed. He was always more cranky, Paul noted, when he'd been dragged away from Kim.

_Thank you, Jared. Paul, at least _try_ to get on with people, can't you? _Somewhere in the forest, Sam's lips were drawn back over his teeth in a snarl. _Quil, Leah, get over to the border. Stay on our side, for God's sake. Collin, Seth, keep around the town with Paul. No sign of Billy yet?_

_Oh, he was heading into the shop as we ran out, _Embry offered helpfully. _Look a little puffed...oh. Well, I guess he'll have called Leah's mom by now._

Paul immediately altered his course to take a more direct route to the Clearwaters' house; knowing that Billy was safe, he could concentrate fully on Rachel's well-being now. _Good_, Sam muttered absently. Different plans, scenarios and ideas were flickering through his mind too quickly for the rest of the pack to see all of them, but they all realised when he settled on one final conclusion.

_There's nothing we're going to do,_ he decided at last. _Nothing we _can_ do right now, without breaking the treaty..._

_They're already broken it, _Quil argued._ Jake too, now._

_Exactly. One for one, it's not enough of a breach to start a war over. _Unspoken at the end of his words was a heavy _yet_.

_But what if – _Embry began to object, but Leah cut him off.

_We're operating entirely on speculation, _she snapped. _We can't base a battle on 'what if'._

_If Jake kills one of them, the whole bunch of leeches is going to be out for blood,_ Paul pointed out. _They'll come down on us, and they'll come down on us hard. But if they kill him...well, the ball's in our court._

_Fucker deserves whatever the hell he gets,_ Leah grumbled, but there was a note in her voice which told Paul that she wasn't totally serious. There was no way she'd let him go unavenged, even if it _was_ Jake. There was no way any of them would – unless the Alpha ordered them to. Besides, Rachel would have Paul's head if he let her brother's death go unpunished.

_He's not dead yet_, Seth interrupted disapprovingly. _Edward wouldn't kill him._

_Oh, really?_ If a wolf could raise one eyebrow, Leah was trying very hard in that moment to do so. _The bloodsucker hates Jake more than any of us – not that I can entirely blame him for it, after the total jerk he's been over the Swan girl – and you think the leech wouldn't grab an opportunity to fight when Jake turns up on their land? Get a grip, Seth._

_We're not acting on anything until we know what's going on._ Sam's tone brooked no argument, not even from Seth.

_How will we know?_ Jared asked.

_If he doesn't come back, we can be fairly certain that something's happened,_ Quil hissed condescendingly.

_Not necessarily. He could've just had another hissy fit and stormed off to Canada again, but on his bike this time_, Paul offered. That concept was better than the alternative.

_Very true_, Leah murmured. _Smart of the asshole to take the bike rather than run,_ she admitted grudgingly. _Although, if Paul had done what he was supposed to and gone straight back to the house..._

_You're just bitter_, Paul retorted.

_Crap, here they go again_, several voices chorused in sync. The pair directed identical sneers at their packmates, which only elicited further amusement.

_Back to the topic at hand_, Sam cut in pointedly, _I want to make one thing absolutely clear. No matter what happens – what the leeches do, what happens to Jacob – nobody is to go off after the Cullens without the decision of the pack._ They all knew that what Sam really meant was that _he_ was the only one who would be deciding what to do, but none of them spoke. _None of you are to sneak off to fight the Cullens, no matter what happens,_ the Alpha repeated.

_We heard you the first time, Sam,_ Quil grumbled sullenly.

_Besides, who'd be dumb enough to think they can take on the whole coven of bloodsuckers by himself?_ Collin murmured.

There was a short pause as they considered the pack's current predicament. _Uh, Jake, apparently._

_Oh. Yeah._ The youngest of the wolves flushed a little at the obviousness of his mistake.

_Jake's not exactly dumb, as such, _Embry defended his friend. _He's just...uh..._

_Stupid?_ Leah offered blithely. _Moronic?_

_That's enough, Leah. _But the girl ignored her Alpha, a note of bitter sweetness creeping into her tone.

_Well, I suppose we can't really blame him. After all, it's just his reaction to being abandoned, being second best._

Her words had an icy discomfort settling over the pack mind, each member mentally wincing. It was so _Leah_ to bring up that particular taboo subject now, of all times, when the situation mean that it was practically mandatory for them to stay in wolf form – and consequently listen to the entire issue play out.

_Come on, Leah,_ Seth whined plaintively. _Can you please not do this now?_

_Stay out of it, Seth. _The reply came in unison from his sister and the Alpha.

_I hate to get involved, boss, but it's a little difficult to 'stay out of it', _Paul stated with studied boredom. _I mean, sure, have your little tiff, but the rest of us will still be here whether you like it or not._

_He's got a point,_ Jared agreed reluctantly.

_And if you argue, Jared'll just try to block it out with pictures of Kim,_ Collin shuddered.

_One day you'll appreciate it more,_ Embry assured the younger boy with a knowing laugh, prompting a growl from the wolf who had imprinted on Kim and grins from the others. They were aware, of course, of the wary tension between Sam and Leah – the flickers of memories and emotions which they tried so hard to ignore – but the boys turned their teasing to Jared and Collin, and then Seth, as if by turning a blind eye the issue would dissipate. They certainly didn't want all of the gory, painful details beaten out yet again with them all as witness; it was an uncomfortable subject at the best of times, and a split in the pack right now was the last thing they needed.

None of them wanted to think about Jake, either.

The sudden reality of what they were facing came crashing down on Paul; somehow, despite all of the horrific scenarios he'd imagined, the concept of actually fighting the Cullens hadn't really occurred to him. _If_ the worst came to the worst, they wouldn't just be battling some nameless monsters, because these vampires had faces and names, histories, real lives. The leader, Carlisle – he was a doctor. His wife was the pretty brown-haired one with a smile for even a grey-furred werewolf. He'd seen them all together, and they were obviously a family in the same uncomfortable sort of way _he_ had a family.

More than that; he'd seen them fight. In a war against the Cullens, there _would_ be casualties, and the scarred one – the one with the peculiarly intense, haunting stare – wouldn't make it at all easy for the pack. Paul had a horrible feeling that _that_ one would pull out all the stops to win, even if it meant launching an attack on the rez itself.

Jesus. He had to get Rachel out of La Push.

Paul had been acting on instinct before – get her somewhere safe, with others, where they'd be able to defend her if anything happened. Logically, that place would be with two of the Elders, the most respected members of the tribe, so it was a small leap to place her with Billy and Leah's mom. All that meant now, however, was that she was a far greater target. Too close, too close by far.

Could his savings cover a ticket to Hawaii? Rachel would be safe there, because the vampires couldn't go out in the sun, and she could stay with her sister. It was a long way away from Forks, so...

_Jesus Christ, Paul. You're not going to have to send the girl to fucking Hawaii. Get a grip. _Sam's exasperation was almost palpable.

_I was just trying to cover all the bases,_ Paul mumbled, a little shame-faced. Maybe he _was_ overreacting a tiny bit. Possibly.

Jared barked out a laugh. _Sorry to tell you this, Paul, but if you think you're considering the different bases, sending Rachel to Hawaii isn't going to help you. You have to keep her very, very close for that. _He smirked.

_Shut the hell up, Jared._

All _of you shut the hell up,_ Sam snapped. _I don't want to hear anything else from any one of you until Jacob gets back._ _Stop talking! _His glower was projected across the forest via mind-link, and they all cringed slightly in natural reaction to their Alpha's displeasure.

_You'd make a great first-grade teacher if you could get a handle on your language, Sam,_ Quil sniggered.

Sam's only answer was a menacing growl, and the boy wisely shut up. Unfortunately, it was entirely impossible to keep their minds completely clear of thoughts, so eventually snippets crept back into the silence Sam had tried to impose.

_...what's for dinner? I'm gonna be late again, and Mom said – _

– _hope I get back to see Kim later. Sucks, Jake just had to choose my day off patrol to –_

– _let Claire dress me up as a princess. Have to find Emily, get her to delete – _

– _that new movie. Jeez, couldn't I have just been a normal –_

– _fucking bastard, shitty lying asshole. _He's_ not the one who has to – _

– _buy a ticket to Hawaii. Is that overreacting, really?_

_YES! _Seven voices chorused together.

_For God's sake, you don't have to send Rachel to Hawaii, Paul,_ Leah added with exasperation. _Let the girl make her own damn decisions._

The sooner Jacob returned the better, and that was a thought Paul had never expected to have. This was ridiculous.

The pack waited in sullen quiet. Jake had to be coming back soon – didn't he?

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Remember to review, please...**

**And check out TLYDF, as well as my stories **_**On Record **_**(Jacob)****and **_**My Scars are the Pieces of My Soul**_** (Jasper)**_**. **_**Please vote! xxx :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: *sidles in nervously* uh...hi? Yes, I know this is abominably late...I can only offer RL as an excuse. It really sucks sometimes to have little things like essays and homework get in the way of your fic writing. Oh, and writer's block. That's another minor nuisance.**

**Anyway, thanks for being so patient! I really appreciate all of the reviews: they let me know you're still out there.**

**And huge, huge thanks go out to the Twilighted Fail Trainers – for the video, the laughs and perhaps most of all the sparkling peenapples... :D**

**Hope you like this chapter...please leave me a review to let me know what you think! I'm working on the next chapter already, so the more reviews I get the sooner it'll be up...yes, that's blackmail xxx :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight - any dialogue from the books included belongs to SM.  
**

**

* * *

  
**

All _of you shut the hell up,_ Sam snapped. _I don't want to hear anything else from any one of you until Jacob gets back._ _Stop talking! _His glower was projected across the forest via mind-link, and they all cringed slightly in natural reaction to their Alpha's displeasure.

The sooner Jacob returned the better, and that was a thought Paul had never expected to have. This was ridiculous.

The pack waited in sullen quiet. Jake had to be coming back soon – didn't he?

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter Sixteen**

By the time the errant wolf finally, finally reappeared – popping into the pack mind like a sort of dark, miserable hurricane – the tempers of the rest of them had frayed to such tenuous threads that their collectively jumbled greeting was full of relief. Even Paul joined in with the grateful chorus of voices, although his next thought (_about time, you bastard_) was thankfully drowned out by the others' welcome.

The Alpha, however, had no such compunction about hiding his fury. _Come home _now_, _Sam ordered forcefully, and they could all _feel_ the power surging through his voice to Jacob, who would have been unable to resist even had he tried. When the Alpha asserted his authority, there was no option but to back down, and even now – when the order wasn't aimed at him – Paul felt the urge to tuck his tail between his legs and whine. There was a similar vibe of absolute submission coming from the rest of the pack, almost overwhelming, so the decision for Paul to phase back wasn't terribly difficult. There was only so much piteousness you could take, even if you were a part of it.

The relief of having his mind to himself once more was instantaneous, the silence oddly jarring as it took Paul a moment, as always, to readjust to the echoing clearness of his head. He was already scrambling to pull his shorts up, and then running through the thick forest behind the Clearwaters' house until it came in sight and he burst out of the trees to sprint across the area of scrubby wet grass which made up their yard.

All but one of the windows stood in blackness, and that single square of golden light spilling out into the deepening shadows outside filled Paul with a curious sort of calm. He could hear the low murmur of voices, words filled with worried concern as they waited – _waited_ – for some sort of news. The boy who would bring them the relief they sought, the news of Jacob's safe return, took a moment to gather his own thoughts; he took a deep breath to prevent himself from bursting straight into the house in his eagerness to see Rachel again – ah, give them the good news.

As soon as the door opened everybody in the room looked up; there were at least four of them gathered in Sue Clearwater's house, but Paul only had eyes for Rachel. He caught her in his arms as she sprang across the room towards him. "Is he all right? Is my brother okay?"

The old Paul would have been more than a little put out at the fact that Rachel, his girlfriend (only as he referred to her, of course, because she still seemed to have a little difficulty with accepting him as _boyfriend_) had asked first about Jacob. The old Paul, he admitted now, had been a bit of a dick. It was a realisation which he'd never confess to, but as he stood right now with Rachel pressed tightly against his chest and his nose in her hair, he knew that he couldn't regret it. He also knew that he could never, never send her away; no matter how selfish it was, he'd rather have her close where he could protect her himself than place her under the dubious supervision of anybody else. How could he trust them to look after her properly, as he would?

"Where's Jake, Paul?" she insisted again.

"Relax, babe. He's fine." Paul smoothed his hand across Rachel's dark hair, felt the death grip of her cool fingers on his back ease a little.

"What does 'fine' mean, exactly?" she questioned anxiously.

"He's back on the rez and he hasn't gotten into any fights recently," Paul replied dryly. "Well, not yet."

"What's the situation with the Cullens?" Although Sue's voice was strained it still held all of the authority of a tribal elder, and Paul immediately turned towards her, suddenly serious.

"It doesn't look good," he began. "There's –"

"Rachel, Kim," Billy interrupted. "I need you to call Old Quil and the other Elders, get them over here. You might have to collect some of them –"

A low growl left Paul's throat before he could think twice. "She's not leaving the house."

Everybody stared at him, Billy's dark eyebrows drawing together into a frown. "Paul, it's not –"

"Excuse _me_," Rachel interrupted. "Don't I get any say in this at all?"

"This is nothing to do with you," her father replied shortly.

Paul could feel the fury rolling in waves from the girl even before she spoke, and when she did the words were seething with barely-controlled rage. "It has everything to do with me. Paul's my –" She stopped abruptly, and even though she hadn't been able to find a word to exactly define what he was to her, the fact that Rachel had classified him as _her_ anything made Paul's heart leap. "I'm not a child any more, Dad."

"This isn't helping anything at all," Sue cut in coolly. "We really would appreciate it, girls, if the other Elders got here as quickly as possible. It'll only take a couple of phone calls."

Rachel looked (to Paul's mind) adorably mulish, the mile-wide stubborn streak he'd run into all too often since meeting her showing clearly in her dark eyes. However, arguing with Sue was an entirely different kettle of fish to opposing her father, so Rachel forced her mouth closed. There was mutiny burning in her gaze, but with as much good grace as she could muster she swallowed it down.

"Please, Rach," Paul added gently, but only received an icy _We'll talk about this later_ glare as she stalked out with Kim in tow. Perhaps, the boy admitted grudgingly, Leah had been right. Making decisions for his mate wasn't conducive to a healthy relationship, even if it did involve sending her to Hawaii.

"So what's happened with Charlie's girl?" Sue asked briskly, all business. "Is it as we feared?"

"Not exactly." With Rachel gone, Paul turned all of his attention on the others left in the room. From what I gathered of everything Jacob saw, she hasn't been bitten. Not yet, at least." Billy and Sue exchanged a worried glance which Paul completely understood. "I only caught a second or so, but it really doesn't look too great," the wolf concluded grimly. "Bella's sick."

"That's what the doctor told Charlie," Billy frowned. "If that's all –"

"I mean, she's _really _sick. Jake thinks...maybe dying. And the bloodsuckers are all worked up about it. They –"

"Dying?" Billy's face was stricken. "Bella, Charlie's girl?" Belatedly Paul remembered just how close Billy was with the Chief, how much the girl herself probably meant to him. "What did they do to her?" His eyes narrowed. "What's Sam going to do?"

"I don't know yet. I didn't stay long enough to hear it all. But..." he hesitated, chanced a glance behind him to ensure Rachel still hadn't come back. "The leeches want to destroy...something. Jacob wasn't too clear."

"If they want to destroy something, it could be dangerous," Sue noted clinically.

"On the other hand, it could be something to protect," Billy countered. "Either way...."

"It'll probably involve us," Paul finished soberly. He suddenly felt much older than his nearly-seventeen years. "I need to get back out there. If Sam decides we're not going to do anything, I'll be back before morning. Otherwise..."

The words hung darkly in the air between them all, a sudden chill which even Paul noticed setting in over the room.

"You should get going, then," Sue murmured. "Please make sure Seth and – no. Forget I said anything."

Paul remembered, suddenly, that as well as being a tribal Elder the woman in front of him had two children in the pack – had both of them out somewhere in the forest facing a peril she was helpless to do anything about. "We all watch out for one another," he replied softly. Sue nodded stiffly.

"Thank you. Be...be careful."

"Be careful? Where are you going?" Rachel froze in the doorway just behind him. "You're not heading out again, are you? Paul, I..." Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

"Your brother has news about Bella. I need to know what's happening, if we can do anything." He crossed the room in a step, cupped her face in his hands so that she had to look up at him. "I have to go, Rachel."

"But you..." Her gaze on his was bewildered, making her appear suddenly very young, but then she swallowed resolutely, closing her eyes for one long moment. "You need to go. I'll see you later...tomorrow."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised.

With a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, Rachel touched one hand to Paul's cheek, and he turned his nose into it to inhale her scent. "I know you will."

"Is...is everything all right?" Kim, brown eyes wide in a face strangely pale, appeared behind Rachel's shoulder. "Are you going out again?"

"We'll explain later, Kim," Rachel told the younger girl quietly, her gaze never leaving Paul's face. "Everything will be fine." But there was a question in her own eyes which the boy couldn't bring himself to answer.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised again instead, but it didn't seem to reassure her; Rachel's fingers only clung more tightly to his hands as if she was afraid that if she wasn't touching him he'd disappear. "I'll see you soon." The boy glanced briefly backwards, found Billy standing in apparently deep conversation with Sue – his back turned determinedly to his daughter and her mate. When Paul looked back to Rachel, Kim had tactfully vanished.

"Paul –"

"Be safe, Rachel. Just...be safe. I like you," Paul added softly. The tears which welled up suddenly in Rachel's eyes panicked him; because he didn't know what to say he just leant forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "If anything happens, I want you to go to Hawaii," he added as an afterthought.

"I – what? _Hawaii_?" But he had already skilfully detached her grip from his arm, loped past her towards the front door and the deepening grey of the evening. "Paul, be careful!" Rachel called after him. "_Please_ take care," she added in a tone too low for anybody else to hear. "I don't want to lose you."

Paul knew that he hadn't been meant to hear the last part – it was difficult for Rachel to appreciate just how good his enhanced hearing actually was – so he didn't say anything in reply. But there was a mile-wide grin on his face as he slipped out of sight into the shadows.

The comforting peace of even such a brief meeting with Rachel was almost washed right away by the turmoil of the pack mind which Paul returned to, but he clung to it stubbornly even as the rest of the story flooded his senses. Everybody was running, their heads full of the horror and confusion of what Jacob had related to them.

Bella was married – and pregnant – and her husband wanted to destroy the child, because it would be a monster.

The first coherent thought which filtered through Paul's understanding came from one of the pack's youngest. _Wow, Jake must really be bummed to know that she actually went and slept with the leech, _Brady was musing.

_Aren't they like...freezing cold?_ Collin picked up the thread after his friend. _Would that even – _

_How is this appropriate right now?_ Paul snapped, and then wondered where that had come from. Could it be possible he was – perish the thought – growing up?

_Only a little_, Leah sniffed. She'd been about to chew them out herself, so she was reluctantly grateful for Paul's agreement. The fact that the pair of them were agreeing at all was a minor miracle. _You two are so lucky the Alpha and Jake are too caught up in their own shit to bother with you right now,_ she hissed at the thirteen year-olds. They were suitably contrite for the rest of the time it took the pack to assemble in loggers' clearing several miles outside La Push, Paul and Jake the last to arrive.

The sight of Sam pacing up and down with his hackles raised, a continuous growl issuing from deep in his throat, threw Paul for a loop far more than the collective agitation. The Alpha was normally the most collected, the one in charge of what he was thinking and what was happening. Sam didn't just _let_ things happen to himself or his pack. Automatically, in a motion born of long habit, Paul fell into step with Jared behind their Alpha, ears laid flat against his head with unease.

Sam was worried; therefore, the danger had to be significant enough to be a threat. That the leeches themselves were split over the issue was equally as perturbing – if the creature which was killing the Chief's daughter was considered a monster by the bloodsuckers themselves, it had to be pretty bad. Paul allowed himself to wonder, briefly, just exactly what it would be like – some sort of mutant, bloodsucking demon spawn by the sound of it, which would emerge from the Swan girl's womb like the green alien lizard from the film his dad always used to watch...

_Paul_, Quil snapped, _not helping._

_Sorry_. But the thing was, if this monster – child – demon spawn, whatever you wanted to call it – was going to be dangerous, Paul _did not_ want it anywhere within a thousand mile radius of Rachel. Yes, it came back to her again, but everything did now. She was so much more fragile, so much more _mortal_ than Paul was himself, that he knew he would do anything in his power to protect her – even if it meant destroying a clan of former allies just to ensure her safety. While he'd been dubious about the idea of the pack engaged in battle before against the sporadic and less direct threat of the bloodsuckers' existence over in Forks – when it was very likely that they'd be moving on soon anyway, and who really _cared_ (apart from Jacob, of course) whether or not the Swan girl got turned if she was dumb enough to want it – this danger was far more defined.

Paul could sense Quil's absolute agreement. The mutant _thing_ (and Quil very much liked the tag 'demon spawn') was a danger to Claire. Therefore it had to be removed, stat. Even if that meant harming Bella in the process, and the boy's mental wince reminded Paul that the two were semi-friends.

Whatever. The demon spawn would probably kill her anyway, and Paul would sacrifice her a hundred times over if it meant keeping Rachel safe.

_You'd kill a hundred people rather than let one die? Not an attractive thought, bro._ Jared's disapproval was clear, but Paul only had to think one word at him and he backed right down. _Kim. _There was nothing the other wolf could say which he would put before his own mate.

Besides, it wasn't _just_ Rachel and Claire and Kim and Emily they would be fighting for. It was Haley, and Paul's parents, and Billy and Sue, and everybody else who lived on the rez. Hell, it was every human who lived in the area. Every human in Washington – in America – in the world.

Well, maybe. It was possible he was over dramatising slightly. Either way, Paul became abruptly aware that he was already classifying the upcoming fight as a certainty rather than a possibility. He wondered how much of that vibe was coming from Sam himself.

Jake, lost in his own little world across the ring of agitated wolves, seemed oblivious. He wouldn't stay that way for long.

_The safety of our families, of everyone here, is more important than one human._

_If they won't kill it, we have to._

The babble of thoughts was rising with the mixture of feelings which Paul could no longer ignore; the others' emotions swirled together in a wave which threatened to break over him, wash him away, and he was caught up in the muddled confusion of anger, horror and a strange, sick sort of excitement.

_Protect the tribe._

_Protect our families._

_We have to kill it before it's too late._

The surge of adrenaline sweeping through all of them had each of the wolves moving in absolute synchronisation now, the purpose universal among them. All of them, that is, except for Jacob and (more surprisingly) Seth.

_No time to waste_, Jared growled. Kim's face was the paramount image in his head, the glowing icon of everything which had to be saved.

Embry was more cautious, but then he hadn't imprinted. _It will mean a fight. A bad one._

_We're ready_, Paul shot back instantly. For all of his reluctance before, the realisation of the new danger had his blood pulsing; all of the old exhilaration of being a wolf had returned in a rush. He could feel his heart racing, the anticipation of the fight which was to come rising to engulf him like one massive wave. It was –

_Wait_.

The pack paused as one at Jacob's interruption, but even his doubts weren't enough to halt the tidal flow of the wolves readying themselves for a fight. Collin and Brady, who hadn't been around for the summer war, were filled with pure, heady excitement; the rest were warier, but there was still the primal instinct screaming for them to run, to protect, to _kill_.

_There's little time_. The Alpha's mind was made up. There would be a war.

_But – what are you thinking?_ Oh, God. Jacob wasn't going to try and argue them out of it, was he? How did he even hope to achieve anything?

_Remember the newborn vampires we fought?_ Sam was snarling. _Wild, violent, beyond the reach of reason or restraint. Imagine one like that, but protected by the Cullens._

The memory of those howling, red-eyed monsters flew through the pack mind in an instant, and the volume of the pack's collective growl only increased.

_It's just a _baby_, for crying out loud._

The picture of the alien spawn flickered briefly into Paul's mind before he could quash it. _Nice, Paul,_ Jared muttered disgustedly. The others, thankfully, ignored it.

_Not for long._ There was a note of something like regret in Leah's tone – a moment of admiration for the mother who would die to protect her young. But it was akin to the feeling of a hunter facing down the bear refusing to leave her cubs in the face of death – a hunter who knows they will still shoot the mother anyway.

_Jake, buddy, this is a big problem. We can't just ignore it_.

_This is crazy,_ Jacob protested. _This afternoon you were afraid to put the pack in danger_.

This afternoon, there hadn't been any threat – not really.

_I can't believe this! How're you going to kill this creature without killing Bella?_

Silence. This was what Jake, in his self-pitying misery, had missed. Every other member of the pack – save Seth, and perhaps the two youngest who weren't totally aware of the real cost of a war – had come to terms with the idea that the Swan girl would be a casualty. Every one of them had justified to themselves that her death was the only way to protect the rez.

_She's human too! Doesn't our protection apply to her?_

_One human versus many,_ Jared began roughly, but his voice was drowned behind Leah's.

_She's dying anyway. We'll just shorten the process._

The flash of blind rage which had Jake leaping for Leah jolted the pack with its intensity, followed quickly by a streak of agony as Sam hauled him back angrily with his teeth. There was a moment when they were all certain that Jacob was going to turn on the Alpha, but the order which snapped out through all of their minds had him freezing in his tracks.

_Stop! _The weight of the command had every one of the wolves rigid, minds suddenly numb with the inability to think individually. _You will not be cruel to him, Leah,_ Sam hissed furiously. _Bella's sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will _all_ recognise that._

And there it was. Finally spoken, the words which pronounced the end of a treaty which had stood for longer than our fathers could remember – the end of a semi-alliance between two traditional enemies – the end of Bella Swan's life.

_It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Making an exception to that code is a bleak thing, _Sam finished with heavy regret.

_We will _all_ mourn for what we do tonight. _

_

* * *

  
_

**AN: Thanks for reading! Remember to review please xxx :)**

**Love to the Fail Train for coming up with 'demon spawn' a long, long time ago :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Ugh. I know how badly I suck. ****I've had time-fail, along with writer's block, and all of that was compounded by my new mini obsession with Supernatural... I *heart* Dean! But I've finally managed to finish this chapter and hopefully the next one won't be as long - it's Christmas! We've had snow already (which I managed to mostly sleep through...)**

**Anyway. Chapter sixteen left you with the pack about to descend on the Cullens and their Demon!Spawn...but we all know how the story goes. Here's Paul's take on it - hope you enjoy! And please review to keep me writing xxx :)  
**

* * *

_Stop! _The weight of the command had every one of the wolves rigid, minds suddenly numb with the inability to think individually. _You will not be cruel to him, Leah,_ Sam hissed furiously. _Bella's sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will _all_ recognise that._

And there it was. Finally spoken, the words which pronounced the end of a treaty which had stood for longer than our fathers could remember – the end of a semi-alliance between two traditional enemies – the end of Bella Swan's life.

_It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Making an exception to that code is a bleak thing, _Sam finished with heavy regret.

_We will _all_ mourn for what we do tonight. _

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Where the pack had been full of boisterous, outraged enthusiasm before, their anticipation had been replaced with a tense, anxious energy. Paul's nerves were strung as tightly as guitar strings and he found himself unable to keep still as he joined the others in formation, taking his position beside Jared. He could sense Leah behind him, Quil and Embry slowly slinking into their places, but there was an empty space in front.

Jake was still crouched, trembling, in the centre of the clearing; seemingly unable to move, his reluctance was seeping gradually through the pack mind so that the mixture of emotions each wolf felt was so scrambled and confused that exactly which convictions each had held was anybody's guess. Paul could barely remember whether he'd been in favour of fighting the bloodsuckers or not.

Overriding all feeling, however, was the knowledge that _this is what the Alpha has commanded_. There was no question, no concept of disobedience or mutiny. The Alpha's word was law.

The fact that the idea of mutiny had popped into Paul's thoughts at all was demonstrative of just how dangerous any sort of divide in the pack was. The thoughts – the doubts – of one were the thoughts and doubts of all, and as a result the entire pack was dogged down with unease which manifested itself in the form of fear; fear of what would happen, of who they would lose. They all knew it wouldn't be an easy battle, because they'd seen the Cullens fighting before.

Even as they slipped into the familiarity of planning, there were differences. Leah was steadfastly ignoring her brother, preferring to think him safe from the fighting rather than acknowledge his danger. Quil and Embry were concerned for Jake, while the boy himself was worryingly quiet.

Paul was wondering just how many of the voices currently circling his brain wouldn't be there in a day's time, and the idea didn't sit well with him. They couldn't afford to lose anyone, and practicalities aside there was the horrifying possibility of losing a friend – a sibling – a family member. Whether they all got on was irrelevant; like or dislike aside, there was still the fact that they all _loved_ each other, not that they'd ever admit it at any time other than one of mortal peril.

Whispering through the combined pack mind like a sea current was the torrential flood of Jacob's concerns. Could he really see the Cullens as his enemies again? Could he forget the agony in Edward's face as he'd begged him for the one thing he thought would save Bella? And could he crush the nagging part of him which half wanted the vampires to win...?

_Jake._ Embry's tone was sharp, but there was pain in it too for his friend. _Keep your head in the game_.

Paul momentarily cursed his little sister for the song which leapt instantaneously into his mind at Embry's words, but then regretted it straight away. What if he never saw Haley again? If he got through this, he promised himself, he'd watch the film with her all the way through without complaining._ Don't be afraid to shoot the outside 'J',_ he noted absently. _Just keep your head in the game. _Oh, God. If he knew the words, he'd already seen it too many times. Maybe he'd just let Haley watch it by herself.

_There's no point fighting it,_ Embry murmured again, but he was talking to Jacob. With relief, Paul noted that nobody else seemed to have paid any attention to his momentary Disney lapse, and concentrated harder on the battle preparations.

Another voice, however, was rising. Jacob's thoughts had taken a new route, a new path which Paul didn't quite understand. Of _course_ the Alpha was in charge. And yes, the pack's survival depended on the cooperation of each member – of the merging of different minds, different bodies into one single force under a leader whom they would all obey unquestioningly.

_So what if Sam's wrong?_

What if Sam _was_ wrong? He was the Alpha. He was the leader of the pack, but more than that; Paul, as one of the very first boys to join the pack, had a link with his Alpha which ran deeper than that of many of the other wolves. The familiarity and absolute trust which came of long association meant that, to Paul even more so than the others, he did not question Sam's judgement. Hearing Jacob question that now was unfathomable.

_I was not born to kneel to him_.

Stronger now, Jacob's thought cut over the noise of the rest of the pack, and there was a split second's silence before confusion bubbled back up.

_What do you mean?_

_I don't understand._

_What's Jake doing?_

_What does being born have anything to do with it?_

_Jake?_

_Jake?_

_Jake!_

Paul was one of the first to realise that Jacob had gone._ Oh, fuck._

_That's about right. _Jared sounded grim. As the others slowly realised what had happened there was a stunned silence but for the stream of expletives hissing from Leah as she growled.

_Jacob? What have you done?_

What was perhaps strangest of all was the fact that they could still hear Jacob's voice, but it came through in an echo from Sam's mind – like a bad telephone connection, or a radio station which was on the wrong frequency.

_I won't follow you, Sam. Not for something so wrong_.

_It's to protect us all, you moron!_ Leah raged, but her words were ineffectual.

_He can't hear you, idiot_, Jared spat in reply. _He's split. He's made his own damn pack._

_But how...?_

_It's his bloodline, Brady_, Quil explained tightly. _He's technically more Alpha-ish than Sam._

_What's that even supposed to mean?_ Leah snapped. _This is just so fucking typical of Jake..._

_Shut up! _Paul ordered. _Jeez, quit squabbling. Listen to Sam, we need to know what's going on._

To his absolute surprise, they actually obeyed. Perhaps it was the confusion of not knowing exactly who to follow – because after all, if Jake was an Alpha too, and a superior one to Sam at that, what were they going to do? – or maybe it was just curiosity, but either way it gave Paul a little surge of pride. If they were going to stick with Sam, and Jake was gone, there was a Beta position open...

_I know what you've decided, Sam. But you don't decide for me, not any more_. The peculiar double echo of Jacob's voice caught all of their attention once more.

_Is this it, then, Jacob Black? _The finality in the Alpha's voice – in Sam's voice – was chilling, so that Paul and Jared automatically took their places at his shoulder with lips curling back to show their teeth. They didn't want to fight Jacob; but he was a threat to the pack, a threat to the Alpha. _Even if you defeat me, the pack will never follow you!_

_No way in hell_, Jared scoffed.

Paul's growl intensified.

_Defeat you? I'm not going to _fight_ you, Sam._ Jacob seemed genuinely surprised at the assumption, and Paul snorted with disbelief – a sentiment which was echoed by Leah. His statement was, however, met with no small relief from Seth, Quil and Embry, which only made Jared and Paul exchange one worried glance. Would Sam be able to count on the support of Jacob's best friends?

_I'm not stepping aside so that you can protect the vampire spawn at the tribe's expense_, Sam growled. A little more of Quil's loyalty settled on the pack's side; he would never sacrifice Claire's safety for the demon spawn which Jake was so intent on saving. Paul's resolve, too, hardened.

_There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers?_

The gap standing between the two huge wolves was barely a few inches wide; teeth bared, hackles raised, the air buzzed with violent tension. A misstep from either one – from _any_ one in the clearing – would end in battle. _Keep steady_, Jared ordered the pack. _Don't move_. Brady and Collin were frozen and terrified, aghast at this spectacle of two they admired so much in a potentially deadly face-off. Leah was seething with barely suppressed rage, Seth was trembling with a mixture of nerves and horrified excitement. Embry and Quil were torn, but Paul stood firm. He _knew_ that no matter what the outcome of this confrontation, his loyalties lay with whichever side would serve the most protection for his mate.

_You selfish fucking bastard_, he hissed towards Jacob. _You've got a sister here, a father. We've all got families in the tribe, and you'd cast them all aside for a bloodsucker's demon spawn?_

_He can't _hear _you._ Jared and Seth spoke together, exasperation and nerves colouring their joint tone. Paul just rolled his eyes.

_I _will_ stand between you and the Cullens, _Jake was saying. His words were steady, controlled, but the fervour behind them was unmistakable. _I won't just watch while the packs kills innocent people._ (More than one of the wolves barely managed to hold back a snort at his word choice. The bloodsuckers weren't _people_.) _The pack is better than that. Lead them in the right direction, Sam._

Jacob gave no warning before he spun around and raced away. Because his mind was no longer linked with theirs, it took the rest of the pack a moment to understand just exactly what he meant. Jake was just being melodramatic; he'd turn back, maybe make a move to fight Sam, have another little pissy-fit at them all – one of those 'oh-woe-is-me' lamentations he occasionally came out with – but he'd come back.

_Of course he will_, Quil scoffed.

_He's coming back._

_Where would he go?_

_Uh, Alaska?_ Leah sniffed.

_Nice, Leah. _Embry sounded disgusted. _He's coming back._

_Don't be so sure_, Paul warned. _Does it _sound _like he is?_

There was a short silence, in which it became increasingly apparent that Jacob was, indeed, gone. Seth fell back on his haunches in the middle of the clearing, his feeling of absolute loss and betrayal seeping into the other wolves. How could Jake abandon them like this? Why would he leave Seth behind, too, when he felt pretty much the same way about the Cullens? _Jake, come back!_ he howled, but there was no response because Jacob couldn't hear him.

_Be quiet, kid_, Paul snapped. _That's not going to help_.

_Leave him alone_, Leah flared. _Seth, shut up_.

_This is all your fault, Paul,_ Embry accused him. _If you'd gone straight back to Billy's like you were supposed to, he'd have never been able to go – _

_Like any one of us would have been able to stop him._ Jared came, rather surprisingly, to Paul's defence. _Stop talking out of your ass, Embry, this is all on Jake._

_What are we going to do now?_ Brady whined plaintively. _What's going to happen?_

_We can't fight now,_ Seth blurted._ Not now that Jake's – _

_Defected,_ Jared growled unforgivingly.

_We're not letting him have his own way just like that_, Paul agreed.

_But –_

_Enough, Seth. _Sam's tone was quietly commanding, but Paul – who'd been with the Alpha longer than most of the others – could sense the slight unease which ran as an almost unnoticeable undercurrent to his words.

_But it's Jake,_ Quil objected softly. _He's one of us, he's – _

_He's one of _them_ now._ Sam cut the boy off abruptly. _He's chosen his side, and it isn't ours. He's not fighting for the tribe any more._

An image of Claire flashed briefly through Quil's mind, and the emotion accompanying it made Paul absolutely certain that no matter how much he cared for his friend, Quil wouldn't be following Jake. His imprint meant far more, and Jake's decision put him in a position which could potentially be harmful to the little girl. The demon child which Jacob was so intent upon protecting as an extension of the Swan girl posed a threat to Claire; therefore, it had to be removed, even at the cost of losing a friend.

_Aw, crap..._ A sudden realisation hit Paul like a ton of bricks, and he froze. Rachel was Jake's sister – what the hell was she going to say about all of this? Whose side would she come down on? Would –

_This isn't the time for your personal crises, Paul,_ Embry snapped testily. The boy was anxious, jittery, because his loyalties were being torn in two directions with no clear winner. _He_ didn't have an imprint to protect, and he didn't want to go up against his best friend; but as far as Embry was concerned, Jacob was being a fucking idiot.

_You need to decide which side you're on, Embry_. Sam's tone was as bluntly to the point as his words. _Are you with the pack, or against it?_

There was a slight pause. _I'm with you,_ he replied sulkily at last. _Even if it means I have to listen to Paul obsessing over Rachel the whole time._ The pack shot Paul a collective glare which had him taken aback. Had he been thinking about her again? He hadn't realised...

_I'm still not happy about having Jake on the other side, though,_ Embry added.

_None of us are,_ Sam replied shortly. _But he's made his choice. He's picked the bloodsuckers over the tribe..._ A flare of anger flashed suddenly through the Alpha's normally tight control of his emotions, and the pack was aware of Sam's fury at Jacob's betrayal. To put the tribe in danger was, in Sam's mind, unforgivable; and inevitably his thoughts leapt next to Emily.

_We get it,_ Leah snapped. _He's putting everyone at risk. So what's the plan?_

There was a moment where each one of the wolves' minds raced through all of the possibilities. Paul wondered whether they'd fight – if they'd go after the Cullens and face Jacob when it came to it, if they'd engage the rogue wolf first to keep him out of the way – or if Sam would decide to wait, to back down. The last was unlikely, but it was still an option; the only one which would ensure they didn't have to face Jacob, the only one where no casualties was an absolute certainty. Sam, however, gave no clue as to what action he would lead the pack in; always the most controlled of them all, his mind gave away no hints, and Paul's impatience grew. Finally, however, the Alpha called for quiet.

_Look,_ he began. _I know that nobody's exactly happy about this, but we have to –_

_You have _got_ to be shitting me_, Leah interrupted.

There was a chilly silence.

_Excuse me?_ Sam replied icily.

_Oh, not you. _Leah sounded almost dismissive. _No, I'm talking about Seth._

_What about Seth?_

_Oh, fuck. _It only took a moment for Paul to realise that he couldn't hear the boy, and he was quickly followed in his revelation by the others. _Where is he?_

Seth was sitting on his haunches a few metres away, looking oddly as if he'd just woken up – bewildered, disorientated. He shook his massive furred head, perhaps to clear it, and Paul was struck by the sheer unfamiliarity of _seeing_ his packmate in wolf form and yet being unable to read exactly what he was thinking. That didn't, however, halt the flow of incredulity from the members of the pack who remained loyal to Sam.

_Come on, dude,_ Brady whined. _What are you doing?_

_Oh, fuck no!_ Leah raged.

Seth twisted his head slowly to survey them all with dark, troubled eyes, before turning his back and loping away into the forest. There was a long quiet, in which even the thoughts of the pack died away to incoherent murmurs. In all his concerns over whether he would lose a brother than night, Paul had never even considered this option, never thought that two of them would just walk away like this. He didn't know what to do, say –

_Christ. _Leah hissed out one long, resigned breath. _Mom's gonna kill me._

_

* * *

_

**Thanks for reading! Please remember to review... xxx :)**

**P.S. Shoutout to MandyJane, who sent me a Christmas card wishing me a Paul-filled holiday...I've trained the girl well ;D xxx  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: And yet again, I fail at updating. I did actually write quite a lot before, but then I got stuck – it really wasn't going right, so I had to start a lump of it over because even as I was writing it I wanted to throw up. In the words of my current favourite person, "Dude – no chick-flick moments." (If you understand that, you're awesome.) XD**

**Anyway. I also got distracted with writing an entry for the 'To Go Amongst Mad People' Contest – it's about Alice, and voting opens on the 18****th**** January. Although it is anonymous, please go along and read the entries and vote for your favourite! Jsyk, mine's canon...non-smutty, as ever...**

**www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/u/2128870/**

**Hope you like chapter 18! xxx :)**

**

* * *

  
**

_You have _got_ to be shitting me_, Leah interrupted.

There was a chilly silence.

_Excuse me?_ Sam replied icily.

_Oh, not you. _Leah sounded almost dismissive. _No, I'm talking about Seth._

_What about Seth?_

_Oh, fuck. _It only took a moment for Paul to realise that he couldn't hear the boy, and he was quickly followed in his revelation by the others. _Where is he?_

Seth was sitting on his haunches a few metres away, looking oddly as if he'd just woken up – bewildered, disorientated. He shook his massive furred head, perhaps to clear it, and Paul was struck by the sheer unfamiliarity of _seeing_ his packmate in wolf form and yet being unable to read exactly what he was thinking. That didn't, however, halt the flow of incredulity from the members of the pack who remained loyal to Sam.

_Come on, dude,_ Brady whined. _What are you doing?_

_Oh, fuck no!_ Leah raged. _Christ. Mom's gonna kill me._

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter Eighteen**

"Sshh! You'll wake him."

"Uh...Rach, that's kinda the point." Paul fought the urge to whimper and bury his head deeper into – what was it? – the pillow his cheek was apparently resting upon. Why was Leah in his dream? Why was she here?

"Already?" Ah, there it was. Rachel's voice sounded irritated, but the very fact that she was there at all made Paul's heart skip in his chest. "Leah, he's barely been back two hours. You've got to let him sleep longer than that."

"Hey, it's not _my_ choice to wake him. I'd be happy if I never had to work with his obnoxious ass ever again, but Sam wants everyone on extra patrol duty and because Paul's one of the old crew, he needs him even more. What am I meant to do? This is for a meeting, anyway, not actual patrol."

"Well, you can tell Sam that Paul's not going to be there, and he can fill him in later. He was out for ten hours, Leah, and he's sixteen years old!"

"Yeah, how's that working out for you, Rach? Don't look at me like that, honey, I'm serious. Are you okay? Coping?"

"I'm fine." He heard her sigh. "I am, really. It's just...'ve got to know this all already though, Lee. I know you've all got this creepy telepathic shit going on."

"He told you about that, then?" Leah's chuckle held no humour. "I guess that was an awkward convo. But sure, I know how thrilled _he_ is to've imprinted on a college girl, but how are you doing with it?"

"Really?" There was a brief pause. "It's tough. I mean, I can just about cope with all of the werewolf stuff, and I'm coming around to the fact that he's...you know...in high school and all, because he's not going to be sixteen forever, is he? It's just..."

"The rez thing?"

"Yeah."

Neither girl said anything for what seemed an age, leaving Paul to wonder what exactly _the rez thing_ was and to worry about why Rachel was so unhappy about it. Why did she sound so sad in his dream?

"I took an accelerated course, Lee! I got through college as fast as I could just to be able to get a job, be self-sufficient and move somewhere that it doesn't rain twenty-four-seven, where they're not constantly going on about the myths of the past. But...Paul's _here_."

"And you'd never leave him?"

"God, no!" There was horror in Rachel's tone. "I can't even...God, just _no_. The way he tells it, he's the one that's imprinted on me, but there's something – you think I'd even consider this if I didn't feel there was _something_?"

"Sure. The phenomenon of the imprint."

"Lee, honey, I'm sorry. I forgot..."

"Lucky you." Paul could hear the bitterness which forced itself into Leah's tone, one which was all too familiar. "Rach, don't – god, please don't hug me. I don't want your pity."

"It's not – "

"Whatever. Tell me – and I can't believe I'm actually saying this – tell me about Paul."

"He's great. That's the thing; when I'm spending time with him, when I'm with him, it's all worth it. But...there's still that thing. Knowing that I worked so hard, gave everything, only to find myself back here in my dad's house waiting around for him like I promised myself I'd never do. I went to ask about a job at the grocery today, and I had to smile and nod while old Joe told me how fucking _great_ it was to have me back and how he knew I wouldn't be able to stay away for long. I mean, _god_, Lee! This is everything I don't want and yet I know it'd kill me to leave!"

Paul's heart stopped. Abruptly, painfully aware that this was no longer a dream, not even a nightmare, he lay frozen on the couch where he'd been asleep, unable to move or think beyond the fact that _Rachel was hurting_. To hear this – to hear what Rachel really thought, really felt, when she wasn't putting a brave face on the situation for him – was more than he could bear. He had to go to her, hold her, and he knew that he would promise to do anything and everything for her to make it right even if it meant moving away from La Push and the pack – but even as he opened his eyes and began to push himself upright, his gaze was met with Leah's glare as she shook her head firmly at him. There was a clear _don't fucking move _message in her eyes, so he stayed where he was, helplessly watching. Her arms were around his mate, holding Rachel as _he_ was supposed to comfort her, but Leah's stare left him in no doubt that she at least thought that he wouldn't be able to make any useful contribution to the cause.

"Honey. Rach, come on. Don't cry. This is all mendable, it's not the end of the world. So what if you're stuck here for now? You've got years – and no matter what, he'll always be there. He has to be."

"Exactly! That's just it, he _has_ to."

"That's not what I meant."

"But it's true, though, isn't it? Look at –" Her words cut off abruptly, and for the first time in a while Paul felt a pang of sympathy for Leah. It was easy – too easy – to become irritated with the girl for her constant scathing remarks regarding her former boyfriend, but honestly? She was justified. Well, mostly.

"Sam? Yeah. You can say his name, Rach, God knows I have to enough. Don't _look_ at me like that! I'm fucking fine with it. I have to be."

"I know, honey. But you know that I'm here, right? Although I don't guess I'm helping much..."

"No! Having you here is...jeez, Rach, I haven't been able to talk to anyone for so long. Emily's..."

"A bitch."

"Come on, Rach." Leah sounded exasperated. "Tell me, truly, that if I'd been going out with Paul – God, that's sick – when you came here, that you wouldn't have even considered him. With him making those puppy eyes at you the whole time," she added over Rachel's protestations. "And with the six – eight, whatever – pack he's got, wandering around shirtless and the whole oh-you're-the-most-wonderful-thing-since-sliced-bread he has going for you. Would you? Really?"

In the short pause which followed, Paul wondered just how long he was expected to lie there pretending to be asleep while the two girls discussed him. Was he really as bad as Leah made out?

"Fuck. Fuck it, Lee. I don't know."

"Yeah. I have to go now, Rach. And thanks."

"Thanks? What for?"

Leah's gaze met Paul's over her friend's shoulder for a second before flicking away quickly, almost guiltily. "You helped me to make a decision. Don't worry about it, honey. Hey, you'll keep in touch, won't you?"

"Why, where are you going?"

"Nowhere. It's nothing, Rach." Paul noticed that Leah's eyes flashed over him once more, and there was definitely something guilty in them this time. "Hey, your guy's just about awake. I'll leave you to it."

While Paul would normally have been ecstatic to see the speed with which Rachel's head spun around to look at him, smile suddenly bright with happiness, but all Paul could think of now was he words she'd spoken to Leah; _This is everything I don't want..._

"Hey, sleepyhead. How are you doing?" She closed the distance between them in three light steps, Leah totally forgotten, and settled down carefully on the arm of the couch next to his head. "Are you hungry?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine." He studied her, the furrow in his brow deepening as he saw the tell-tale redness of her eyes.

"Are you sure? I can get you –"

"Rach, I said I'm fine! I don't want anything!" The sudden explosion of anger had Rachel jerking sharply backwards, surprise and alarm showing in her face before she managed to regain her composure and footing.

"Are you always in such a bad mood when you don't sleep well?"

"I'm not in a bad mood!" Realising the ridiculousness of the statement, Paul fought desperately to restore his temper. "I'm just..."

"What, then?" Rachel snapped. "Because I don't need my head bitten off when I try to look after you." She spun on her heel, made to storm out of the door, but Paul's voice made her freeze.

"Why didn't you tell me, Rach?" he asked softly.

The woman stood very still, her back still to him. "I guess you heard, then."

"Yeah." On quiet feet he rose, crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind as he'd wanted to when she was crying before. "Rachel, I –"

"Don't." Her voice cracked on the word. "Don't tell me you're sorry, because it isn't your fault. I didn't want you to...what _could_ you do? I'm just being silly."

"No, you're not."

The fact that Rachel didn't make any effort to disagree with him was agonising to Paul; with closed eyes, he bent to press a kiss to her soft, sweet-smelling hair, but he had no idea what to say. He was sixteen, for Christ's sake! People were supposed to be making important decisions for _him_, because he sure as hell wasn't equipped with dealing with a situation like this. Sixteen year-olds weren't _supposed_ to deal with situations like this, but because he lived in La Push, his life was anything but normal, wasn't it? This was all so fucked up...

Paul took a deep breath to cool his rising resentment and fury, drew in air laced with – now so familiar – that scent of flowers and fruit and shampoo and _Rachel_. Usually so soothing, today it only brought a fresh wave of hopelessness and self-loathing; Paul could smell the salt of his mate's tears, strangely bitter so that the scent stung his nostrils. Impotent rage rose up within him again, gripping him so hard that he began to shake and all he could think about was the fact that _the bloodsuckers made this happen_ and he had to destroy them, had to _tear their fucking throats out and –_

"Paul. Paul, please, stop..." A voice intruding on his consciousness made him blink, but it wasn't quite enough to drag him from the red haze of fury which cloaked his every sense, fogged his brain so that it was his only thought, everything that he could see and smell – even taste it, sharp on his tongue like blood.

"Paul! Paul, stop it, you're hurting me!"

_That_ dragged the boy from the mist faster and more absolutely than if a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown over him. He came to, gasping, with the realisation that he had both of Rachel's wrists in a vice-tight iron grip as she struggled futilely against him, eyes bright with fear and pain. Horrified, Paul dropped her hands as if he'd been burnt, scrambling backwards – away from her – with his palms pressed tightly over his eyes as if that would erase the image of her panic and terror.

"Oh God...God..."

"Paul."

"No, no...oh, God," he moaned again.

"Paul, look at me." Rachel's fingers closed gently around one of his hands, pulling it away from his face; but the first thing he saw was the reddened impression of his own fingers already darkening on her slender wrist, and he flinched back again until his back hit the wall behind. "Oh, for...Paul, please calm down. Come on. You're all right. It's all right."

"I hurt you." He managed to choke the words out around the lump of revulsion in his throat, hatred at himself, at what he was and what he'd done. "I hurt you, Rachel. I...I have to go. I need to..." _Get away from here, so I won't hurt you again._

"Don't be ridiculous, Paul. You're not _serious?_ Paul, I –" But he was already halfway out of the room, headed for the front door and the emptiness of the forest where there wasn't anybody to hurt. More importantly, where Rachel wasn't, because he had to keep her safe – even from himself.

He had almost reached the shadows under the trees when her voice reached him again.

"Don't you _dare_ walk away from this, Paul!"

Slowly, he turned. "I have to," he told her hollowly. "I'm dangerous, Rach. I can't run the risk of hurting you."

"For God's sake! That's not your choice to make!" she raged. "_I'll_ be the one to decide what danger I put myself in, Paul, not you! Now get the hell back in this house so we can talk this through. You're not going to hurt me, Paul."

"How can you be so sure?" he replied bitterly.

Rachel's dark eyes narrowed dangerously. "You are _not_ walking away from this," she told him, the words vibrating with barely controlled fury.

They stared at one another for a long, long moment.

"Paul," Rachel murmured at last, face suddenly softer and more vulnerable. "Please, Paul."

"I can't hurt you, Rachel. I _can't_." To Paul's horror, he could feel the hot pressure of tears building up behind his eyes and he raked one hand roughly over his face to cover them.

"Believe me, I'm not about to let you."

Paul managed to crack a small smile. "Billy probably has a gun inside somewhere."

The returning grin on Rachel's face was, to Paul, like the sun breaking through the clouds. "Two, actually. No silver bullets, though."

"Pity. I hear they're good for dealing with vampires, too." He closed the distance between them, wrapped his arms around her so that she was pressed close to his body, but with exceeding care – as if she was made of porcelain, or some other equally fragile material. He _wouldn't _hurt her.

"You know, I'm not quite as breakable as you think," Rachel murmured into his chest, her voice sending little vibrations across his skin.

"You're like a paper doll," Paul disagreed, and she pulled back a bit to regard him with one eyebrow cocked in a sort of challenge.

"That's really not terribly flattering. Can I punch some sense into you?" She brandished a fist threateningly, but Paul caught it in his hand and brought it to his lips to kiss.

"Don't," he told her. "You'd only break it. Bella nearly did, when she punched Jacob."

"That scrawny little leech-lover punched my brother?" Outrage flashed across Rachel's face. "Bitch. What did he do?"

"Kissed her. Rachel...we need to talk about this. We can't ignore it."

"Right. Yeah." She huffed out a breath. "So, I don't really want to live on the rez my whole life."

"Can you wait two years? I mean," he added quickly, "as soon as I'm eighteen we can leave. We can go anywhere you like."

"Paul." Rachel shook her head slowly. "What about the pack? You've got responsibilities, you change into a _wolf_."

The boy frowned. "I guess there'll have to be some forests somewhere nearby, so I can phase every once in a while. And I need to tell Sam, of course."

"You...you'd really do that?" Her eyes were huge and dark, brimming full with an emotion he couldn't quite read.

"Of course," Paul replied, a little confused. "I'd do anything for you." He winced. "That sounded less cheesy in my head."

"No, that's..." She shook her head, eyes not quite meeting his, and he was instantly suspicious; with one hand, he lifted her chin so that their gazes met.

"Are you crying?" he demanded incredulously.

"No, I – maybe. Yes, I am. A little. God, my face is going to go all blotchy." She sniffed a few times, blinking to clear her eyes. "I'm fine. I just...I think I love you," she blurted. "Crap, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry, I – "

"You love me?" Paul cut her off with a grin. "Why are you crying, then? It's not _that_ bad."

It took a moment for her to realize that he was just teasing her, and then she hit him. "Ass!"

"We need to work on your punching." Paul laughed as he drew her closer, one hand drifting unconsciously to the curve of her waist while the other tucked a loose strand of hair behind Rachel's ear. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

"You're infuriating, you know that?" But she was smiling, idly stroking a line on his chest with one finger. "So you'll talk to Sam?"

"I will." He was still riding on a high from her statement of love – there was a small part of his mind still running in circles screaming _She loves me! She loves me!_ – and Paul determined afresh that he was going to do anything possible to make Rachel happy.

"Thank you, Paul."

"Hey, it's nothing. I love you too, you know."

"I think I do." She smiled up at him radiantly. "I can't believe – Paul, what is it?" The boy had stiffened, turning automatically to place his body between Rachel and the forest, but after only a second he relaxed again.

"It's Quil. Just Quil."

"Oh." She took the slightest step backwards so that there was a small gap between their bodies. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know." Paul tugged on her hand to bring her close again. "Quil! Don't even bother coming out if it's not really important."

"It is." Quil's voice ghosted out of the shadows, and Rachel craned her neck to look for him. "I'm not coming out, though."

"Why not?"

"He's just phased," Paul told his imprint, rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Right. Well, it's not like I haven't seen it before, he and Jake used to run around the garden with no clothes on all the time. They were five," she added at Paul's snigger.

"Thanks for that, Rachel." Quil managed to sound embarrassed, but when he spoke again his tone was all business. "Paul, Sam needs you."

"For God's sake – "

"Seriously, Paul." Quil paused, while Paul stepped back from Rachel with an exasperated sigh. "Leah's gone."

"Leah's gone where?"

"_Gone_ gone. She's left the pack."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think! ANd remember to check out the Alice contest... xxx :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: So I'm actually sticking to my aim of updating once a month-ish. I'm in the middle of exams right now, so naturally I'm spending more time writing. My work ethic is...questionable.**

**Please go and check out my story 'Alice, Interrupted' which I posted a little while ago! It actually got picked for the Judges' Choice, 'Little Ficbook', which was really nice XD**

**I keep forgetting to say it, but thank you so much to everyone who's reading and reviewing! It gives me warm fuzzies whenever I see them...and the favourites and alerts. I'd still love to hear from more people, though! ...yes, I like reviews.**

**So here's chapter nineteen – when did this get so long? Next time it'll be twenty...jeez. Enjoy! Xxx :)**

**P.S. Mandyjane, how are my apostrophes?**

**

* * *

**When Quil spoke again his tone was all business. "Paul, Sam needs you."

"For God's sake – "

"Seriously, Paul." Quil paused, while Paul stepped back from Rachel with an exasperated sigh. "Leah's gone."

"Leah's gone where?"

"_Gone_ gone. She's left the pack."

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

If anybody had told Paul – ever – that he'd have actually _missed_ Leah hanging around like some dark, dismal cloud of misery and rage, he'd have laughed in their face and told them they were crazy. Well, he admitted to himself, he'd probably still do that now. He and Leah had been at one another's throats for far too long for him to suddenly acknowledge now that maybe (just _maybe_) she wasn't quite as bad as he'd always thought.

To be fair, he didn't miss her perpetual gloom and resentment. _Miss_ itself was a word which stuck in his throat, but if he was entirely honest with himself Paul could perhaps say that not having Leah around was definitely more boring than having her there; sure, they hadn't got on as such, but recently they'd sort of bonded over their mutual disgust of Jake.

_Did he just say they'd _bonded_?_ _Ugh. _Paul suppressed a shudder.

All things considered, though, she was probably better to have around than half of the pack was at the moment. With Leah's angsting, Paul could at least see some semblance of reason; Sam's abandonment of her was, as excuses go, a fairly good one, and there was the fact that she was – after all – a _girl_. She was smart enough to turn that bitterness into sarcasm, too, primarily at Jake's expense which was something Paul would never object to.

Oh, he was trying to be more charitable about the kid. It was just difficult, especially when he was the root of all Paul's current irritation.

Thanks to Jacob's _defection_ – Paul almost sneered the word, even to himself – things in the pack were possibly even worse than they'd ever been with Leah. Not only was the general feeling of oh-crap-we-might-have-to-kill-Charlie's-girl fairly prominent (Rachel had said, when he'd discussed it all with her, that feeling like that was a good thing – they didn't want to all become soulless bloodsuckers, did they? Paul was proud of her for that comment) but there was the additional whining of Jake's little sidekicks.

Embry and Quil were being insufferable.

Almost every sentence they spoke, it seemed, began with the words 'what about', 'what if' or 'are you sure?', more often than not followed by 'but Jake...', until Paul could practically _see_ the thin thread of Sam's temper fraying strand by strand. It was only so long before he cracked, and when that happened who knew what would happen to the pack. Jared and Paul were solidly behind their Alpha; Quil and Embry were coming dangerously close to defection, leaving Collin and Brady with no idea exactly where they stood. The only link holding them in any appearance of unity was Sam's control over them all, and Paul could recognise a sudden wariness in him to use the full Alpha's power again after what had happened with Jake.

The only agreement they'd managed to reach was that they would wait to act. Backed up by the Elders, Sam's only decisive order was that they were to do nothing – for now – and watch. 'Do nothing' in fact meant that all seven of them remaining in the pack were running widely ranged, rigorous patrols, but Paul had noticed a difference in even these. Quil and Embry were now always accompanied by one of the original three pack members – Sam, Jared or Paul himself – and the timings seemed to have changed a little too. Quil was suddenly always free in the early afternoon, which just happened to coincide with when the Rez pre-school finished. Paul himself noticed that he was often strangely free in the evenings, allowing him to spend far more time with Rachel than her new job would have otherwise permitted.

Sam never voiced his reasoning, but his aim was clear; to cement the loyalties of the pack members he did have left.

Personally, Paul wasn't going to complain. It was one of the few good things which had come out of this entire mess. The _other_ good thing, as Paul saw it, was the fact that Jacob was no longer in the pack. _Jacob could no longer read his mind._

Despite having feared that Rachel would blame him for her brother's abandonment of the family and rez, Paul had been pleasantly surprised – _very_ pleasantly in fact, the boy thought as he rolled over in Rachel's bed to wrap his arms around her as she slept, nuzzling his nose into her neck. The fact that her baby brother was (a) not around and (b) not listening in on Paul's thoughts or memories of her relaxed a stress within Rachel that her boyfriend hadn't even known was there. Yes, he was her _boyfriend _now – officially. And he was staying over at her house almost every night he wasn't on duty, wrapped up close beside Rachel for as long as they could both stay awake and then sleeping in one another's arms until morning. She still refused to _sleep_ sleep with him (_Bummer_, was Jared's comment on that) but now the time they spent together was uninhibited by the fear – on Rachel's part, of course – that Jake would suddenly burst in on them and beat Paul to a bloody, mangled pulp.

All in all, as far as Rachel and Paul's relationship was concerned, things couldn't have turned out better. Billy wasn't too happy – either about his missing son _or_ his daughter's new semi-permanent roommate – but there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it.

"Paul?" In his arms, Rachel stirred sleepily, half lifting her head as if to look for him.

"I'm here, babe." Paul pressed a kiss to her throat, smiling. He loved that her first waking instinct was to look for him.

"Too hot," she complained indistinctly, before adding in a mumble, "you're such a lump!"

"Oh. Sorry." He began to pull back, but her hands closed over his to hold them in place on her waist.

"Didn't say you had to move, did I?"

"Hmm." The noise was non-committal as he kissed her again. "Don't you have to get up this morning, babe?"

Rachel's only response was to snuggle closer to him. Paul sighed and tried again.

"Rach, you made me promise I'd wake you up in time for work."

"Don't want to." She wriggled around so that they were facing, snuggling close to bury her face in the crook of his shoulder as she hooked one startlingly cold foot over his leg. With extreme care, Paul began to disentangle himself from her hold.

"Babe –"

She _growled_ this time – really growled.

"Okay, I'm going. I'll get out of your way before you kill me."

"Oh, sure, because _you're_ the responsible one here." Apparently awake now, Rachel sat up in the bed to glare at him, her dark hair a tangled mess across one bare shoulder where the strap of her tank top had slipped down. Paul swallowed.

"I'm...I'm going to get dressed," he told her in a voice pitched ever-so-slightly higher than normal. "You can stay in bed if you want."

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes, pushing back the covers to swing her legs down to the floor. "I'm up."

"Sorry." Paul wasn't sure why an apology was necessary there, but somehow it was.

"Whatever." The girl reached on her toes to brush her lips briefly against his on the way to the door. "Love you. Really. Hi, Dad."

Billy, just in the hallway outside, called after her as she breezed past him. "Rach, Joe just called to say the store's burst a pipe. It's closed today."

"Closed?" She spun back, eyes bright with glee, and ducked down to kiss her father's cheek. "Awesome!" Her gaze flickered to Paul, then back to Billy (planted firmly in the middle of the hallway between her and the bedroom), and she sighed. "I guess I'll still get up."

"Good idea," Billy grumbled. His eyes lifted slowly to meet Paul's, and they stared at one another for one long moment before Paul finally cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I'm...I'm, uh, going to go and put a shirt on," he muttered.

Billy nodded slowly. "You do that, kid."

Paul didn't exactly _slam_ the door, but he closed it pretty damn quickly. Half living under Billy Black's roof hadn't furthered their acquaintance any, despite the handful of times Rachel had oh-so-tactfully left the two of them together to 'talk'; she'd made it perfectly obvious that she wanted the pair of them to get along, but there was just too much awkwardness. Paul wondered just what exactly Jake had told his father.

Rachel was still trying to manoeuvre them into going on a fishing trip together. Paul half-hoped that the bloodsucker threat would continue for a while longer, just so he could plead the excuse of having to run patrol. Failing that, he'd have to claim an allergy to fish. He was sure Billy would back him up on it.

He could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and decided to concentrate on another topic. The problem was that Rachel always _smelt_ so good; he'd been right, after his first visit to the house after her return, about all of the bottles lined up on the cabinet, but now he saw that as less of an issue. He still had no idea just _why_ she used them all – what the hell was an _exfoliator_, after all? – but he really didn't care if it made her smell so pretty. The thought made him freeze in the motion of pulling a shirt over his head. Jesus Christ, what was hethinking? He had to cut that shit out right now, before any one of the guys caught it from his head. He'd never live that one down.

From the kitchen, the phone rang shrilly, and Paul wondered (not for the first time) at which stage of guest-dom he was. Would the Blacks expect him to answer the telephone if he was the only one around? All these little details of relationships were ones which he'd never considered before, but were nonetheless suddenly far more important than he'd ever thought they could possibly be.

Luckily, however, it seemed that Billy was around; the noise cut off, to be replaced with the low murmur of the man's voice. Minutes later, the slowly regular _squeak_ of Billy's wheelchair preceded a short, sharp knock against the bedroom door.

Paul froze.

"You there, kid?"

"Uh...yeah?" He opened the door, uncomfortably staring down at Rachel's father. Never mind the fact that he knew Paul was staying, it was still really weird to have Billy coming to find him in his daughter's bedroom.

"Phone call," Billy told him unnecessarily. "Sue's coming over, and then we're heading out. Tell Rach, won't you?"

"Sure." Paul bobbed his head in an awkward sort of half-nod.

"Great." There was a second's silence, before Billy made some grudging attempt at a smile. It came out a little more like a grimace than any real expression of happiness, but Paul appreciated the sentiment. "Bye, kid."

"Were you talking to my Dad a minute ago?" Rachel asked as she came out of the shower a little while later, hands lifted to brush back damp hair from her face. Paul swallowed at the sight of her; wrapped in a towel which was, somehow, staying up all by itself, her skin was flushed pink from the heat of the water all the way down to her bare feet. Her toenails were painted bright red.

"Hmm?"

She laughed at him then, patting his cheek affectionately as she moved past him into the room. "It takes so little to distract you. Silly boy, what did Dad say?"

"Oh, right. He just wanted me to tell you that Sue called to say she'll be by soon to pick him up. You smell real good."

That made her turn back to him, the corners of her lips curling upward into a smile. "How come I got so lucky?" she murmured, slipping her arms about his waist so that she could rest her cheek against his chest.

"_You_ got lucky?" Paul replied incredulously, arms coming up to hold her against him. "Jeez, Rach, what kind of losers did you know at college to think you're lucky to get _me_?"

"You have no idea." Rachel tilted her head back to smile at him. "I mean, the last guy I dated –"

"Whoa. Hold on a sec." His eyes narrowed, a frown lining his forehead. The thought of _his_ Rachel with some other guy was enough to make his hold on her tighten, hands curling protectively into the curve of her waist. "What was this guy's name? Where does he live?"

"Just kiss me already, Paul."

He obliged, lips rough against hers; possessive, as if by claiming her lips now he could wipe away any memory of her having been with anybody else. The thought infuriated him, an all too familiar rage roiling inside.

"Hey. _Hey._" Rachel pulled back just far enough that his forehead rested on hers, noses brushing lightly against one another. "It's okay, Paul. It's just you now, only you. I'm only yours."

"Only mine." How did she always know the right thing to say, how to defuse the anger within him? "Mine. I like the sound of that. Rach, I love you."

"Only yours," she repeated.

Somebody knocked on the front door, but neither of them moved to answer it. "Sue," Rachel breathed.

"Hmm." Paul kissed her again, this time with none of the urgent jealousy which had driven him before. Her hands formed fists in the fabric of his tee between them, and Paul loved the idea that she was holding onto him, wanting to keep him close as much as he wanted her near him. Neither of them paid any attention to the open and close of the front door, voices in the living room, the footsteps along the hall...

"Oh, shit! Sorry, guys!"

Paul's first reaction was to spin around so that his body was between Rachel and the intruder. Teeth bared, he glowered with blazing eyes at the boy who was sheepishly backing away from the now open bedroom door. "What the hell are you doing here, Brady?" he demanded furiously.

"Uh..." He glanced behind him, to where Collin was lurking further along the hall. "Sam sent us?" It came out as a question as he hurriedly averted his eyes to the floor. Paul had, however, caught the look and glanced behind him to where Rachel was adjusting her towel where it had...slipped slightly. There were bright spots of pink on her cheeks, but otherwise she appeared absolutely calm.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Paul spat.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry." Brady looked more embarrassed than Rachel did, his eye flickering uncomfortably as if he couldn't quite decide where was safe to look. "We thought...we thought you'd have heard us coming."

"Sorry, man," Collin apologised from a safe distance back. "Billy sent us straight through."

"I bet he did," Rachel muttered darkly. Her smile, however, when she stepped forward, was bright. "I'm guessing you two are Collin and Brady, then?"

"Unfortunately, they are."

"Be _nice_, Paul."

Paul glowered again. He hadn't missed the way the boys were surreptitiously eyeing _his_ mate, and slipped an arm around her waist.

"Wow, you guys have changed. I used to babysit you both, remember? And you're, what, in high school now? Just?"

They shuffled uncomfortably as Paul turned his head to grin at her. Rachel winked.

"So what's the deal?" the boy asked briskly.

"Sam's calling another meeting, at his house. Emily's making pancakes with bacon," Brady added with sudden enthusiasm.

"And muffins," Collin chipped in.

The mere mention of the food had Paul's stomach grumbling loudly. "I'm there," he grinned. Then he glanced over at Rachel. "What do you say, babe? Since you're not working today, and all, you got time for breakfast?"

"Really?" Her smile was huge, and Paul realised suddenly that he'd never actually asked her to join the pack at any point before. It wasn't like they'd had any bonfires recently – there was the bloodsucker mess and the crappy weather to blame for that – but still, the fact that he hadn't thought of it....

"Sure," he replied. "If Emily's there, it's not like it'll be serious business the whole time, and Sam knows better than to try and go all pack leader on us before breakfast." Paul dipped his head to kiss her upturned face, ignoring the two boys who were gawking on. "I'd love you to come, babe."

Her smile was absolutely radiant. "All right, boys, out of here, I need to get dressed. You too, Paul," she added with one eyebrow slyly quirked.

Collin let out a long, low whistle as they entered the living room. "Man, your girlfriend is _awesome._"

"And hot," Brady added under his breath, but Paul had no trouble hearing. From anyone other than the thirteen year old, he'd have probably reacted very differently, but now he just laughed.

"I know."

"Hotter than Leah," Collin spoke up, and then blushed.

Paul eyed him with amusement. "You are _so_ lucky she's not in the pack any more."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Check out 'Alice, Interrupted' and drop me a review – lent is currently killing me, so reviews will make it all better xxx :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN**: **Good things to happen this week include the beginning of the Easter holidays, return of Supernatural AND Vampire Diaries, and time to actually update this story! All is good XD**

**Thank you so much to everybody who's been reviewing/favouriting/alerting - I love knowing that people are reading and liking my story, and I have to say that I'm still stunned by the response this has got considering it's not about the main characters!**

**So, official Eclipse trailer - thoughts? I have to say I was a little disappointed...they could have done so much more. But I'm still looking forward to the film...**

**We're at chapter 20! Wow...although, when I think about it, I *have* been writing this fic for nine months now. Jeez, that's a long time for my mind to stay on one topic - no, seriously. Hope you like it, and please leave me a review! Longest chapter so far...enjoy xxx :)**

* * *

_Collin let out a long, low whistle as they entered the living room. "Man, your girlfriend is awesome."_

_"And hot," Brady added under his breath, but Paul had no trouble hearing. From anyone other than the thirteen year old, he'd have probably reacted very differently, but now he just laughed._

_"I know."_

_"Hotter than Leah," Collin spoke up, and then blushed._

_Paul eyed him with amusement. "You are so lucky she's not in the pack any more."_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

Collin and Brady bounded out of Rachel's car as soon as it pulled up outside Sam and Emily's little cottage. For a while longer after the engine had stilled, Paul remained in the car with Rachel, patiently waiting as she fussed needlessly with the keys, her hair, earrings. Even though the smell of Emily's cooking wafted through the air to make his stomach growl, Paul didn't move.

"Ready, Rach?" he asked when her fingers stilled and she looked around for something else.

"Maybe I should just go on over to the store," she blurted, looking everywhere but at him. "Joe probably needs some help."

"He said he was okay, babe."

"I know, but –"

Paul leant over to turn her face gently towards him with one hand. "What are you worried about, Rach?"

"I'm not worried." The denial was instantaneous, but her gaze flickered down. Paul didn't say anything in reply, so Rachel was finally forced to speak again. "They're your _friends_, Paul! What if they don't like me?"

"That's impossible. They already do." He was proud of himself for having refrained from using the word 'ridiculous'; if the few girls he'd dated previously had taught him anything, it was that they didn't respond well to being called that. "You already know Embry and Quil, right? You've met Collin and Brady, and they think you're amazing. Besides, they already know all about you and like you." Mostly, their like was based on the fact that _Paul's not such a whiny bitch any more_, but he chose not to mention that.

"Really?" Rachel's eyes lifted to meet his hopefully. Then – "Oh, crap. They know everything about me."

Paul grinned at her. "Come on."

"No. No! Paul –" But her complaints were laughing as he came around to open her car door and pull her gently upright, drawing her against him. "I wish you wouldn't do that," she grumbled.

"Collin and Brady are eating all the muffins," Paul shrugged innocently.

"Well, in that case..." Rachel rolled her eyes and allowed him to take her hand, following compliantly as he dragged her towards the front door. "These muffins had better be good, that's all I'm saying."

"Oh, they are." His mouth half full, Quil grinned up at her from the kitchen table. The little room was already packed with hulking boys, most of them clad only in a pair of cut-offs as they crowded around the table in the centre which practically groaned under the weight of all the dishes on it. "Hi, Rachel."

"Rachel!"

Paul tried not to laugh as the boys surged forward to greet his mate, drawing her into the centre of the pack as they all spoke at once so the noise level rose exponentially. Rachel looked utterly bewildered as her head turned this way and that to see them all, but she was laughing as her eyes met his. She'd be fine, as he'd known she would be, Paul decided. It was probably safe to leave her.

Sam was absent from the kitchen, and it was the Alpha Paul needed to talk to. With Rachel still enmeshed in the mass of boys – there were, admittedly, only five of them, but they were very loud and took up an awful lot of space – he slipped out of the room, coming face to face with Emily.

"Paul!" she exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"Just a second ago, and we brought Collin and Brady. Sorry." He smiled affectionately down at her. Despite all of Rachel's misgivings towards her as a result of Leah's heartache, Emily was still very much the 'mother' of the pack and Paul wasn't going to let even his mate convince him not to adore her. Not that he'd put it exactly like that, but there was a lot to be said for a constant supply of home-cooked food and understanding. She was younger than Rachel, he realised with a jolt.

"And 'we' would be who, exactly?" Emily's answering smile was no less sweet for the ugly scarring across her cheek. "You brought Rachel!"

"She's being mobbed."

"That was always going to happen, wasn't it? I'll have to distract them with some more pancakes." The lopsided smile faded a little. "Rachel and Leah are good friends, aren't they?"

"Well..." Paul wavered between total honesty and comfort. "They are, I guess. But Rachel's open-minded, and she gets the whole imprinting thing, so..." He shrugged. "She'll be nice, I promise. And _we_ all love you, so how can she not?"

"Thanks, Paul." Emily reached up to kiss his cheek. "You've really changed, you know that?"

Abruptly embarrassed, the boy shrugged again. "Not really."

She eyed him knowingly. "You have. Don't worry, it's a good thing."

"Thanks," he laughed.

"Point proven," she commented wryly. "If you're looking for Sam, he was just finishing up in the bathroom."

"Great. Thanks, Emily." Paul glanced up at a sound in time to see his Alpha step out of a doorway just down the hall, wet hair flat against his skull and with a towel wrapped loosely about his hips. "Hey, boss. Thanks for sending Tweedledum and Tweedledumber over to wake us up."

Sam's lips twitched upward into the slightest smirk. "Any time."

"I'm sure. Who's on patrol?"

"We're going to talk about that." Sam's eyebrows drew together. "Everyone here?"

"Yes," Emily replied for him. "Speaking of which, I'd better make sure Rachel's still okay." She squeezed her mate's fingers affectionately before disappearing, and Paul watched with amusement as Sam's eyes followed her before snapping back to the boy in front of him.

"You brought Rachel."

"Yes. Why not?" It was almost defensive, in reaction to Sam's non-committal tone – as if he wasn't sure whether to be happy or angry. "How come nobody's patrolling?"

"I've spoken to Jacob." Without giving Paul time to register _that_ piece of information, he continued, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah." Paul shook his head to clear it. "Okay. _Okay. _You know Rachel's got cousins in Seattle, right? They moved off the Rez – I don't know – a bunch of years back. Anyway, one of them goes to college across the state and he just came back because this kid he went to school with died –"

"I'm touched you want to tell me." Sam's tone was flat.

"Hey, just giving you the back story, boss. Apparently he's been acting weird – moody, short tempered. And he's put on a hell of a lot of muscle recently."

Sam didn't say anything for a long moment. "So you're saying..."

"It's possible."

"Yeah." The fact that Sam was even admitting the possibility made it all the more realistic; it had, up until now, only been a slight, lingering suspicion in the back of Paul's mind. "There've been a lot of leeches moving through there recently. What the hell are we supposed to do about that?"

A brief silence hung between them, and Paul knew that they were both imagining the all too horrifically plausible outcomes. If a wolf phased in the middle of Seattle, that would be one huge load of shit hitting some colossal fan.

"They're actually heading up to the rez this week, if it helps," Paul added usefully.

"How soon?"

Paul shrugged helplessly. "Maybe today, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday. They'll call."

"Hmm." It was always annoying how little emotion Sam let show, but right now it was absolutely infuriating. Paul wanted to know that the whole concept freaked his Alpha out as much as it did him – having the threat of a _new wolf_ on top of everything else! – but Sam's expression didn't change. "What's the kid's name?"

"He's nineteen. Jeremy Blake, apparently."

"I've heard of him. You had anything to eat yet, Paul? I need to talk to the pack." And he strode off to get dressed as a rather bewildered Paul made his way back into the kitchen.

"How come you and Jake've both been hiding her from us?" Embry demanded with a wicked grin as soon as he reappeared. "Your girl's _great. _Bastard. Scared she'd fall for one of us instead?"

"No chance," Paul scoffed automatically, shaking off the unease his conversation with Sam had left as he crossed the kitchen to throw an arm over Rachel's shoulders. It was an entirely possessive move, and he could tell from the exasperation in her dark eyes as she flicked them up to him that Rachel knew it, but he couldn't care less. He snatched up the last remaining muffin and bit into it more savagely than he'd meant to, gaze meeting his friend's. "_My_ girl, Embry."

"As if we could forget." The other boy held up his hands in mock supplication, but the acknowledgement of Paul's claim was real enough.

"Apparently you've been talking – thinking, whatever – about me behind my back." Rachel smiled up at him, making Paul feel entirely foolish for ever considering that any amount of flirting from the other wolves would have any effect, and he kissed her forehead in a sort of apology.

"Always, babe."

"Ugh." Collin, the thirteen year old, rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

"He's as bad as Jared."

"God, don't get me started on Jared..."

And just like that the conversation swept on, with Rachel in the centre arguing with as much passion as any one of the wolves. It was only Paul who, in the middle of it all, noticed the sudden rise of Rachel's defences when Emily spoke, the way in which her smile took on an oddly frozen quality. That could provide a problem, he thought with resignation, but Rachel was certainly _loyal. _Even if it was to someone in a rival pack, as Leah now was.

Nonetheless, Emily was the Alpha's mate, so Paul cast Rachel a slight warning in his glance when her eyes met his; she looked away quickly, but it was with a sheepish smile as her fingers tightened around his infinitesimally.

"Need a hand with anything, Emily?" she offered, and the unscarred half of the other girl's face lifted in a smile. "Seeing how none of the boys have offered." She glowered at them all, and Paul wasn't the only one to shuffle uncomfortably.

"Thanks, Rachel. If you could just stack the dishes, I'm sure the boys'll be happy to wash them once they've finished." Both girls regarded the wolves with almost identically challenging gazes, and there was a short pause.

"Sure," Paul muttered first with reluctance as his mate turned that _look_ on him.

"Paul's so whipped!" Embry crowed gleefully.

"And Embry just volunteered to _dry_ the dishes," Sam commented wryly as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Embry." Rachel smiled sweetly.

Sam's presence instilled a sort of order over the room which had the boys settling down, expectantly waiting for whatever news their Alpha would bring them. Obviously made uncomfortable by the sudden change in mood, Rachel drifted over to where Emily busied herself quietly by the sink, both women working quietly side by side. Paul wasn't even sure what they were doing, but it was – to him – an obvious ploy to remain in the room while Sam was speaking. It was curious, actually, that Emily would choose to stay when she normally left the pack to their business, but the brief smile Sam's mate flashed him gave him a revelation: Emily was staying so that Rachel could be there too.

Emily was _awesome._

"So what's up, boss?" Quil absently smacked Brady's hand away from where it was creeping towards the food on his plate.

"I've spoken to Jacob."

Collin choked on the mouthful of juice he had just taken, spraying it halfway across the table, and the boys didn't even react. There was a loud clatter as Embry dropped his fork to the floor.

"He's granted permission for the Cullens to bite Bella." Sam's face, and voice, were utterly expressionless. "With no retribution."

_That_ had them talking again, shouting all over one another.

"What?"

"You have _got_ to be kidding."

"He's letting them do _what?_"

"Hell, no!"

Even Embry and Quil were half standing, horrified that their friend would agree to such a thing. Jared's scowl was like thunder, Collin and Brady appearing equally furious, but Paul was looking to Rachel. All of the colour had drained from her cheeks, making her wide, dark eyes look huge and terrified. He was about to go to her, some helpless instinct telling him that he had to protect her, when Sam's voice roared over the chaos.

"Shut _up_!" Even though they weren't in wolf form, the authority of the Alpha still came through.

"What gives him the right to do that?" Jared demanded furiously. "To put everyone in danger by making a newborn –"

"He's an Alpha," Sam cut in coolly, and nobody said anything for a moment.

"Awkward," Brady sang under his breath. He didn't duck quickly enough, though, as Paul cuffed him roughly around the head. Just because he was closest.

"You totally had that coming, moron," Embry hissed.

"Asshole," Brady shot back.

"Idiot."

"Would you two just grow up?" Jared snapped, and both boys began to turn on him before Sam's low growl stopped them in their tracks.

"Leave it." Sam glowered at them all – even Paul, who hadn't even _done_ anything – before continuing. "Jacob's word stands. For all of us."

"He'll come around," Quil insisted instantly. "There's no way he'll let them...we've still got time, right?"

"Yeah, Jake's not about to let Bella get –"

"There's no time," Sam interrupted. "It's already done."

This time nobody was drinking, and they all managed to keep hold of their cutlery, so the only sound in the shocked silence was Emily's horrified gasp.

"Well, shit," Paul managed at last.

"Exactly." Sam's voice was grim.

"He actually went through with it?" Quil demanded in a strangled tone. "Like...for real?"

"There's a new leech in Forks." Jared's words were icy with barely suppressed fury as he pushed himself up from the table, chair screeching across the floor. "We can't let this happen, Sam. Not this close to the rez, not this close to Kim."

"You're not the only one with an imprint, Jared," Quil snapped. "Shit, Sam. You saw those newborns."

"Why is nobody on patrol?" Paul jumped up to join Jared, abruptly horrified. Sure, Rachel was _here_ – Rachel was safe – but there were still all of the others on the rez. Haley, his mom and dad –

"Calm the hell down, all of you!" Sam barked. "She's still in the transition period, or whatever it is, so she's out."

"What are we waiting for then? We have to get her now." Jared's eyes were wild.

"How can we?" Collin spoke up for the first time, his eyes wide in a way which managed to make him look no more than the thirteen year-old kid he was. "Jake and Seth are there. And Leah, we can't –"

Quil slammed his fist down on the table, making the plates jump. "There's no way we can face all of the Cullens, either. Not without Jake."

"We can't do _nothing_," Paul snarled. He could feel his rage rising, fought to push it back to a controllable level. "We're supposed to be protecting the rez."

Embry surged to his feet, the kitchen suddenly a lot smaller than it had been when they'd all been sitting down and eating calmly. "Not from our own!"

"If that's what it takes," Paul argued.

"Jacob's gone too far," Jared agreed with a hiss. "She's not just gonna be the Chief's daughter any more. She'll be a _vampire_, Sam. A _newborn _bloodsucker."

"Hey. Hey!" Suddenly Rachel was in the middle of everything, her cheeks flushed red with rage and dark eyes flashing. She squared right up to Paul, one fist solidly against his chest. "Jake's my fucking _brother_. Don't even think about –"

"He's protecting a murderer!" Paul couldn't moderate his fury even for her.

"As if you're so innocent!" she hurled back at him.

"I'd rip his fucking _throat_ out if anything he did would hurt you!"

"Paul, back away." There were hands dragging him backward, fists clamped over his chest to hold him still, and for the first time Paul noticed how much he was shaking. "Paul, _calm the fuck down_."

There was a roaring in his ears, and all he could see was Rachel in front of him – face pale, strangely small, but her eyes were fixed on his and her lips were moving. He concentrated on them, tried to hear her over the pounding rush of blood in his head.

_Paul, it's okay. Listen to me, babe, it's all right. Calm down, Paul. Please don't do this again, Paul. Look at me, it's okay..._

He drew in a deep breath, vision slowly clearing as the roaring died away. "Rach." He ached to go to her, but Sam and Jared were still holding him back so he let himself relax under their grip. "I'm fine, guys. Honestly."

"Paul." Rachel closed the distance between them in a hurry, barely giving Sam and Jared time to let go of him before she wrapped her own arms about him and held on tightly. "Stupid idiot," she mumbled against his chest. "But don't think you're forgiven," Rachel added, stepping backwards out of his grasp. "I'm _not_ letting you hurt Jake."

"And just when I was starting to like you," Jared muttered. "Paul, your girl's brave as hell, but she's not very smart."

"Yeah, well 'Paul's girl' and 'smart' aren't exactly going to fit into the same sentence, are they?" But Quil grinned tightly at her. The tension had dropped, but nobody in the kitchen was entirely calm; Paul could smell the adrenaline pumping around the room, a potent mix of fear, anger, confusion and excitement.

"Okay, everybody needs to calm down and _sit_ down." Emily's voice was steady, even though her face was pale enough that her scars stood out in stark relief. "I'm serious, boys. Otherwise you need to get out of my kitchen; we can't afford a new table right now."

Paul wondered whether any of them really understood the power Sam's mate held over them all. When even their Alpha couldn't hold them in line, a quiet word from Emily had them scrambling to obey. Embry had never appeared so contrite in his life, while Collin and Brady both looked like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, the suck-ups. Because there weren't enough chairs for them all, and Quil had stolen his, Paul remained leaning against the countertop with his arms around Rachel. The exasperated look she shot him told him, quite clearly, that she still hadn't quite forgiven him for threatening to kill her brother, but now wasn't the time to talk about it. Paul considered just what he'd say in response; he certainly wasn't _sorry_ for saying it, and he'd meant it, but he wasn't sure Rachel wanted to hear that. Girls were so_ sensitive._

"So what are we going to do, Sam?" Jared's sudden calm was almost eerie after his previous rage.

With an unusual display of frustration, Sam dragged one hand back through his short hair. "There's not much we _can_ do. We have to stick to Jacob's word."

"But –"

The Alpha held up one hand to stall Quil's objection. "They also have to stand by theirs. Jacob promised safety for her, but they are not exempt from biting any of the humans on the rez or in Forks. It will be their responsibility to control her, or forfeit their lives." He scowled about the room. "Agreed?"

"That sounds fair enough." Jared's smile was anything but friendly, all of his teeth showing.

"If she sets foot on the rez, that's a breach of the treaty?" Paul didn't look at Rachel, but it was clear what he was thinking.

"Absolutely."

"And we'll be watching," Brady completed with an evil half-smile totally out of place on his young face.

Even Embry shrugged. "Fine. If Jacob's clear on that. And at least we don't have the demon spawn issue to deal with, if they bit her."

"Jacob's clear on the treaty." Sam hesitated, and a small seed of suspicion took root in Paul's mind.

"What aren't you telling us, Sam?" he demanded. "If it's something to do with the thing..."

"If it's something to do with Jake..." Rachel began at the same time.

"God, you're not gonna tell us the spawn's alive?" Quil blurted. "Because that's just too far, man. There's no way that thing's safe this close to the rez."

"It's alive," Sam confirmed shortly. "Apparently it's no threat. But whatever it is, it's off limits." He glanced around the room, at the faces which Paul was sure held the same bewilderment as his own.

"What the hell, Sam?" Jared growled. "We already know the thing drinks blood, and it's not going to have any control or –"

"It was _killing_ Bella!" Embry, too, looked outraged. "We can't have that loose, Sam. We _can't_."

"Shut up, all of you!" Sam ordered angrily. "I don't like this any more than you do, okay? But we have to leave it this time. Jacob went and imprinted on the damn thing."

If they'd been shocked before, it was nothing compared to the stunned silence now.

"Oh, fuck _no,_" Paul breathed.

"Fucking _yes,_" Sam replied grimly.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading, and please review! I love hearing from you all xxx :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: It's early! Yes, it really is. I even had time to proof-read it this time...haven't done that for a while :) Be proud.**

**So I've just got back from a few days away – Prague is **_**amazing**_** – where I had every intention of spending my spare time (flights, evenings etc) writing this fic. No internet or homework, right? Well...turns out I'm quite capable of getting distracted by, say, South Park. In German. -facepalm- No, I have no idea what was going on. But it still, somehow, stopped me from writing. On the bright side, I **_**have**_** finished this chapter! Obviously.**

**Thank you again for all of the reviews you gave me for the last chapter! I love reading them and hearing from you all – you're all incredible, and I'm really grateful to you for sticking with me and Paul (and Rachel, I guess) XD**

**So here's chapter 21 – wow, this keeps getting longer! We're adding some elements you might not expect now, because they're not necessarily in BD...hope you enjoy! Please review to let me know what you think xxx :)**

**

* * *

  
**

"_What aren't you telling us, Sam?" he demanded. "If it's something to do with the thing..."_

"_God, you're not gonna tell us the spawn's alive?" Quil blurted. "Because that's just too far, man. There's no way that thing's safe this close to the rez."_

"_It's alive," Sam confirmed shortly. "Apparently it's no threat. But whatever it is, it's off limits." He glanced around the room, at the faces which Paul was sure held the same bewilderment as his own._

"_What the hell, Sam?" Jared growled. "We already know the thing drinks blood, and it's not going to have any control or –"_

"_It was killing Bella!" Embry, too, looked outraged. "We can't have that loose, Sam. We can't."_

"_Shut up, all of you!" Sam ordered angrily. "I don't like this any more than you do, okay? But we have to leave it this time. Jacob went and imprinted on the damn thing."_

_If they'd been shocked before, it was nothing compared to the stunned silence now._

"_Oh, fuck no," Paul breathed._

"_Fucking yes," Sam replied grimly._

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter Twenty-one**

"How is that even possible?" Brady demanded. "I mean...seriously, do we even know what the thing _is_?"

"Jacob wasn't totally clear on that," Sam replied with what Paul considered to be admirable calm. "It's human-shaped, certainly. Like a real baby. I didn't get much beyond that – he didn't share everything." The last came out almost reluctantly, and the pack gaped at him.

"What, like you can't hear everything?" Embry sounded incredulous.

"He's not part of our pack, so it's not like the pack mind, idiot," Quil told him impatiently. "But screw that, Sam, is the thing going to drink blood?"

"Jacob wouldn't say."

Paul's eyebrows shot up. "That's probably a yes, then."

"Serves him damn well right, if you ask me," Jared growled. "All that cosying up the the leeches, now he's stuck with one."

"I'm no sure I like the implication of the word 'stuck', Jared," Emily chided primly. "And I'm fairly certain Kim wouldn't like to know you think of imprinting like that either. Right, Rachel?"

Rachel's only reply was a sort of choked cough, and Paul remembered – a little too late, because he still wasn't all that great at being an understanding boyfriend – that they were discussing herbrother. "You all right, babe?" he asked with concern.

"Come on, you've got to admit he deserves it a _little_, even if you are his sister," Brady insisted.

Collin shot his friend an exasperated glare. "Be serious, dude. I'm pretty sure Rachel actually likes Jake."

"Shut _up, _both of you. Jesus, I was _never_ thirteen."

Paul burst out laughing as Sam's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "You were, Quil, and you were a total pain." He rolled his eyes. "Talk to me, Rach. Are you okay?"

Miraculously, none of the pack interrupted in the time it took her to swallow – twice. Rachel nodded slowly, but it changed halfway through so that she was shaking her head instead. "Jake's imprinted on Bella's baby?"

Paul exchanged a worried glance with Sam, and then Emily. "Uh...yes?"

"My brother's imprinted on his ex-girlfriend's newborn vampire child?"

Put like that, it was wrong on way too many levels. "Yes. Rachel, do you want to sit down? I know it's a shock –"

"What the _hell_, Paul? A fucking _baby_? That's...that's just...Jesus _Christ_."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Quil interrupted hotly. "It's...it's different to your imprint."

"Says the guy who imprinted on a two year-old," Embry added wryly.

"She's three now." The defence was automatic, but _really_ did nothing to improve his argument in Rachel's eyes. She did sit down now – abruptly – in the seat which Brady vacated for her, all colour flooding out of her previously flushed cheeks.

"Jesus Christ," she moaned again. "My brother's in love with a day-old baby."

There was a short silence.

"A day-old _vampire _baby," Embry muttered.

"A day-old vampire baby who's the kid of his _ex_," Jared added.

Emily cupped a hand over her mouth to cut off the sudden laughter. "I'm sorry," she gasped as they all turned to stare at her accusingly. "But it's just too ridiculous."

"How does that make it funny?" Quil grumbled. "It's not –"

"Give up, Quil," Sam ordered. "Rachel, the thing with imprinting is that it's different for everyone. Jacob will be whatever the baby needs – friend, brother –"

"Babysitter," Brady snickered.

"– until she's old enough to decide for herself. He's not going to feel about her how Paul does for you." Sam shot his own mate an adoring look, obviously in the same _feeling_ category as Paul. "This doesn't make him a paedoplile."

"Paedo_wolf_," Jared added, smiling beatifically across the table at Quil.

"It's still pretty creepy, though." Collin dodged Quil's fist just in time before it made contact with his head.

"Boys! Mind the table," Emily chided. "If you're going to fight, please take it outside."

"Sorry, Emily." Collin grinned sheepishly and she laughed at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. If Emily had a favourite – after Sam, of course – it was the youngest member of the pack. Paul was sure it had something to do with Collin's weirdly long eyelashes, but couldn't quite work out how it worked.

Rachel chose that moment to speak up. She'd been sitting very quietly with a pale face and troubled eyes, and Paul had kept a concerned eye on her as she obviously tried to understand the situation. "So what does all of this mean?" she asked now. "I mean, I know the...the baby's off limits, because Jake's imprinted on her. But it's a _vampire_. A vampire newborn."

Paul huffed out a breath in the thoughtful quiet which followed. She'd just managed to lay out the entire dilemma, the question which they'd been trying to avoid, because none of the answers were ones which they liked.

"We're going to have to wait and see," Sam replied quietly after a moment. "There shouldn't be too much of a problem, for now at least."

"Not for several years," Quil clarified. "It's a baby, right? So there's not a whole lot of trouble it can cause at the moment."

"And with any hope, the leeches will have moved away from here long before it becomes a real issue." Embry shrugged carelessly. "We'll have to trust them, and Jake, to keep the thing in line."

"Trust the leeches," Jared snorted humourlessly. "Hey, I bet Leah's loving this."

All of the boys laughed at that, and Paul was grateful that they were moving the topic along before Rachel could ask about the _other_ options for dealing with the demon spawn. Without discussing it, all of the wolves were aware that should they decide action against the newborn was necessary, it would be at the cost of Jacob's life too.

"Today, then," Sam interrupted the general babble, "Jared and Quil on patrol this morning. Bella shouldn't be waking until tomorrow, but we're not risking anything."

"Sure." Jared stood, stretching so that he towered over everyone. "We'll make sure the leeches stay on their side of the line, even if we can't touch the spawn. Right, Quil?"

"Yeah. That everything, Sam?"

"For now." The Alpha hesitated, glanced quickly towards Paul. "Just...all of you keep an eye out for any kid who looks like they might be heading towards the change. It's possible there could be some..." His voice trailed off, leaving the pack and the girls – but not Paul – staring at him incredulously.

"You have to be kidding," Embry whined. "You think we might get more of _them_?" He jerked his head towards Collin and Brady.

"Increased leech presence," Jared nodded in understanding, looking as dismayed as Embry. "Well, crap."

"More of us, though, if it comes down to –" Brady shot a quick glance at Rachel, cutting off his words abruptly, but his meaning was clear and the girl's face suddenly paled again. Paul's mate turned huge eyes up to him.

"You're saying it still might come to a fight?" she asked with horror. "Paul..."

"It's always going to be a possibility, Rach," he replied quietly, fingers gently squeezing her small hand in his. "We'd generally rather it didn't – especially not like this – but we can't always stop it."

Rachel shook her head quickly. "Paul, I can't lose - " _Jake,_ he thought she was about to say, but Jared cleared his throat loudly before she could finish the sentence. Paul tore his gaze away from his mate's.

"Well, we'd better be going. Who's taking over after us, Sam?"

The Alpha glanced quickly around the room, his gaze calculating as he noted who had run most recently. "Paul and Collin."

"Oh, come on!" they both objected at once. "You put me with _him_?" Paul was grateful for the change in mood, but he still couldn't forget the horrible vulnerability in her eyes as she realised that it was still very possible that they might have to fight her brother.

"See you guys later," Quil called back over his shoulder, escaping the (almost inevitable) argument about Sam's choice of patrol partners. "Don't forget Embry volunteered to do the dishes!"

"Thanks a bunch, moron!" Embry yelled back. He turned to glare at the others still in the kitchen. "You're helping too."

"Team effort," Sam agreed with obvious relief at the averted crisis. "Collin and Brady can clear, Paul's washing, and Embry can dry. I'm supervising."

"And _we'll_ stay well out of the way next door," Emily finished. Rachel stood mutely to follow her, and Paul watched her go with frozen concern until the Alpha's mate shot a reassuring smile back over her shoulder at him. Emily would look after her; of them all, she was the one Paul trusted most with Rachel.

"Great day to bring Jake's sister along, Paul," Embry muttered once the girls had gone, jerking Paul out of his reverie enough to smack the other boy over the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're an idiot," Paul told him, making Brady roll his eyes as he set a stack of dirty plated by the sink.

"Like we didn't know already. It's _Embry_."

Embry snatched up a handful of bubbles and flung them at the younger boy, but Brady just laughed and dodged out of the way as they wafted to the floor. "I though we agreed you weren't supposed to insult your elders, _kid_," he grumbled.

Paul flicked his own handful of soapsuds at Embry, with considerably more success. "Glad you didn't try to pass yourself off as his _better_," he mocked.

"Hey, no throwing soap all over the kitchen!" Sam cut in. "We – man, you did _not_." He stood glowering, bubbles dripping down his face from the attack as Embry and Paul whooped gleefully.

"Nice shot, kid!" Paul held up his hand to high-five Collin. "Now run."

"The table's all cleared!" Collin yelled back over his shoulder as he sprinted for the door, Brady right on his heels as Sam lunged for them. Paul had no doubt that if the Alpha really wanted to catch them, he'd have been able to do so without much trouble at all, but instead Sam just slammed the door behind the two boys and turned back to face Embry and Paul with a wide grin. Paul almost dropped a plate in shock – he hadn't seen the older boy smile like that in...he couldn't even remember. Certainly not since Jacob had come back, maybe even before Jake had _left_.

"Idiots," Sam grinned fondly. The smile slipped from his face as he saw the way Paul and Embry were watching him, mouths half open in shock, and a flicker of a frown passed across his face instead. "What?"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Sam?" Embry asked. "You just _smiled_."

"I smile," Sam replied defensively, and the other two exchanged a quick glance before bursting into laughter. "I _do_. Jeez."

Paul shoved the last washed dish onto the draining board, wiped his hands roughly over his shorts to dry them. "Sure you do, Sam. Your face didn't crack or anything – maybe you should try it more often." He hesitated. "You're only _twenty,_ man."

"Wow." Embry set some dried cutlery down onto the counter with a clatter. "Paul's being all insightful. I'm not sure whether to thank Rachel, or ask her what the hell she did to him."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Paul shot back automatically, and Embry reached out to pat him lightly on the cheek.

"Dude, you forget. We _do_."

"Fuck you," Paul growled. "I hope you imprint on a five year-old."

They all stared at one another for a moment before Embry groaned. "Thanks, Paul. How the hell did you get _Rachel_? Because your karma definitely didn't deserve that."

"Whatever." Paul scowled, but there wasn't a whole lot he could say in reply because he _knew_ it was true. "I'm going to go spend time with my incredibly hot, super-smart girlfriend now, while you finish doing the dishes and then go hang out with the thirteen year-olds. Thanks for that, by the way, Sam," he added as he turned to his Alpha. "You couldn't have paired me with anyone else for patrol?"

One corner of Sam's lips curved upward, almost as if he was trying to smile. "No problem."

"Oh, God." Embry gave a mock groan. "Sam's smiling again. Does it once, and now you can't stop him."

"Yeah, I'm going to _go._" Shaking his head in a mixture of exasperation and amusement, Paul left them to it and headed for the low murmur of voices where Rachel and Emily sat in the next room. They seemed to be getting along surprisingly well, Paul noted as he stuck his head around the door, and Rachel had regained some colour in her cheeks and was looking a little less miserably confused. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Hey, Rachel," he called softly, and they both looked up. Paul liked to think that the light which leapt instantly into Rachel's eyes was something to do with how pleased she was to see him, but if he was entirely honest with himself it could also just be her relief at possibly escaping from Emily. God, girls' loyalties were strange if Rachel would like _Leah_ better than Emily. "You want to head out?"

"If you're done..." She glanced towards Emily, gave a smile which could have even been genuine. "And if that's all right?"

"Sure." Emily stood, smoothing away some invisible creases in her shirt. "I know what it's like, and your guy's doing patrol this afternoon." Paul's chest puffed out infinitesimally at being labelled _Rachel's guy_, but he'd deny it. "I'll always be around if you want to talk, okay?"

"Thank you." Paul's confusion as Rachel leaned over to hug Emily fled quickly into resignation. All right, so girls' loyalties were a little more fickle than he'd thought. He would _never_ understand them.

Rachel's hand slipped into his as they made their way out to the driveway in front of the house, neither of them saying anything until they stopped beside the car. Paul was still lost in thought about whether Emily and Rachel would actually manage to get along, maybe, and the whole situation with Jacob was still circling around in his mind as he glanced down at his mate.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked gently. Rachel didn't reply for a moment, simply turning to slip her arms around his waist and rest her cheek on his chest.

"I'm okay," she said at last. "I mean...Jesus, it's totally screwed up and I have no _clue_ what's going on. And I'm scared as hell for Jake, and for _you_ –" She swallowed. "But seeing all you guys together..."

"I know," Paul chuckled. "It's not exactly confidence inspiring. "They're all idiots, and Embry has a crappy sense of humour and Brady – God, I'm sorry about Brady."

Rachel laughed then, which was kind of the point. "No, it's not that. I mean, yes, that's all true, ridiculously so," and she rolled her eyes, "but no. Seeing all you guys together like that, I think I understand a little now how you work. And I think that despite everything, you'll work something out."

"Really?" Paul asked without thinking. "Wow. I mean...thanks. I have no idea where you got that from, but – yeah. We generally do okay."

"Thank God." Rachel lifted one hand to his face, laid it against his cheek. "I couldn't bear to lose you."

There wasn't much he could say in reply, so Paul simply turned his head to kiss her palm, hoping that she understood. "I love you," he finally settled for saying, and then found himself blushing as a loud catcall sounded from inside. He spun around, only to catch a glimpse of Embry grinning at him through the window. "Jesus Christ!" he swore, but Rachel only laughed.

"Is he – is that really a thumbs up?" she asked incredulously. "He really needs to get out more, doesn't he?"

Paul let out a short, sharp bark of laughter. "You really have no idea."

"Well." Rachel shrugged. "I guess it's just unfortunate he _can't get a girlfriend_." She raised her voice a little for the last bit. "I mean, seriously? It's Embry, Paul."

Paul's ears, far more sensitive than his girlfriend's, could pick up Embry's low curse, Sam's chuckle, and he drew her back against him to plant a kiss on her forehead. "I really, really do love you," he told her again. "And I feel so sorry for whatever poor girl Embry imprints on one day."

"Hey, don't rub it in too much." Rachel prodden him gently in the centre of his chest with one finger, let her hand linger there a moment longer. "You should be grateful right now that I don't want to bite you. Shut _up_," she added quickly, cheeks flushing with colour. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Paul's mock-pout slid quickly into a mischievous grin. "So you're saying you _do_?"

"Such a guy," Rachel grumbled, stepping back. "You're as bad as Embry."

"_Ouch_." Paul grabbed her hand, placed it back over his heart. "That hurt, babe."

"Serves you damn well right."

"I know, I know. But Rach," and he became suddenly serious, "you made a _joke_ about the demon spawn. You're really okay with that now?"

Rachel shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm dealing with it, Paul. I just need time to get my head around it, but hey – we've got time, right?"

"Of course." The tension which Paul hadn't been aware of lifted from his shoulders, relief that Rachel really was all right, and he found himself grinning. "So what do you say we head back home, since you're not working? We've got most of the day – we can put in a movie..."

Rachel's answering smile was radiant. "I'd like that. But we've already seen all the movies Dad and Jake own, do you want –"

"Rachel." Paul bent down to kiss her. "I didn't say we had to _watch_ the thing."

It was the girl's turn to flush red, and she glanced guiltily towards the mercifully empty kitchen window. "How about we discuss that when we get home?" she murmured, moving closer, and if it was possible Pau's grin grew even wider. He reached out to cup her face in his hands –

– and spun around with full werewolf speed, teeth bared as he thrust Rachel to safety behind him. It was a disturbance in the bushes to the side of the driveway which had his hackles rising, had the urges to _fight_ and _protect_ surging evenly in his blood as he struggled with the automatic instinct to instantly change form. He couldn't, though – not with Rachel so close, so vulnerable.

"Dude! Chill, it's just me. I thought you guys had gone by now."

"Does every single one of your friends have some sort of psychic radar telling them exactly _when_ to jump out at us?" Rachel exploded, but Paul simply held up one hand to hush her. Possibly not the best idea, but he'd have to deal with the consequences later.

"What's the deal, Quil? Why aren't you on patrol?" he snapped at the boy who was half crouched awkwardly behind some bushes.

"I _was_. You need to get – Sam! We've got one already, we need you." The Alpha had come striding out of the little house, Embry tight on his heels, and both their expressions were grim.

"Slow down, Quil," Sam ordered. "What's going on?"

"We've got one already," Quil repeated. "He's messed up, and Jared sent me to get you, so –"

"Got one _what_?" the Alpha snapped. "Leech or wolf?"

It hadn't occurred to Paul that they could be discussing anything but a bloodsucker, but it made sense. Why would Jared choose to face one alone rather than just howling for assistance?

"It's a new wolf, Sam!" Quil's voice was panicked.

"Fuck." The short expletive was enough, and Sam bent with no further ado to strip off his shorts. Paul heard Rachel's sharp intake of breath as she turned away quickly, but had no time to look at her as he took one quick step towards his Alpha. "Jeremy?" he demanded.

"How am I supposed to know?" But Sam paused, considered Paul for a short moment. "Paul, you're with me. Quil can swap shifts with you. Embry, stay here. Come _on, _Paul." And he exploded into a wolf right there, bounding away into the forest.

"_Jeremy_?" Rachel parroted with horror.

"I'm sorry, Rach." Paul leant forward to clumsily brush his lips over hers, even as he fumbled with the button on his shorts – no time for modesty. "I'll explain later. Love you, babe."

Then, abruptly, it was the familiar aching stretch of his body changing form as he leapt away from her, landing on four paws to charge away after his Alpha. He was instantly aware of the strange new presence in the pack mind, panicked and shouting.

_Holyfuckingshit what the hell?_

_

* * *

  
_

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review xxx :)**

**(On a side note to all SPN fans: have you seen the most recent episode?!?!? -dies- And there's going to be a sixth season!)**

**(On a side **_**side**_** note, anyone ever watched _Leverage_? It's awesome...)**


	22. Chapter 22

**-sidles in guiltily...whistling-**

**I know. I fail at life, writing, and remembering to update on time. It's been...a while. I've discovered that I write best at night (i.e. between midnight and 2am - yes, I know I'm strange) and for some reason I've had to keep getting up early so it's been difficult to find time. Oh, and the exams got in the way as well. Irritating things, exams XD**

**I've had a birthday, and I've got a new laptop! It's very pretty, and it's got all the keys on the keyboard! (long story...) Very exciting. So I plan on spending much time with my new precious and getting the next chapter out to you a lot faster than this one. Working on it already...**

**Thank you for sticking with me. I know I'm crap at updating, so I'm really grateful for your patience and reviews!**

**'When Lightning Strikes' (God, it took me an embarrassingly long time to remember the name of my own fic...oops) is over a year old now! Th****is has to be longest I've ever worked on anything in my life, and I've got you all to thank for that. Motivation is a powerful thing - generally I lack it :D**

**

* * *

**"It's a new wolf, Sam!" Quil's voice was panicked.

"Fuck." The short expletive was enough, and Sam bent with no further ado to strip off his shorts. Paul heard Rachel's sharp intake of breath as she turned away quickly, but had no time to look at her as he took one quick step towards his Alpha. "Jeremy?" he demanded.

"How am I supposed to know?" But Sam paused, considered Paul for a short moment. "Paul, you're with me. Quil can swap shifts with you. Embry, stay here. Come _on, _Paul." And he exploded into a wolf right there, bounding away into the forest.

"_Jeremy_?" Rachel parroted with horror.

"I'm sorry, Rach." Paul leant forward to clumsily brush his lips over hers, even as he fumbled with the button on his shorts – no time for modesty. "I'll explain later. Love you, babe."

Then, abruptly, it was the familiar aching stretch of his body changing form as he leapt away from her, landing on four paws to charge away after his Alpha. He was instantly aware of the strange new presence in the pack mind, panicked and shouting.

_Holyfuckingshit what the hell?_

**

* * *

****Chapter Twenty-two**

It took Paul a moment to distinguish between the babble of confused voices in his head – sure, he was used to having them all shouting at once, but this was someone _new_ and even Collin hadn't been that bad for a while. He could see flashes of forest he didn't quite recognise, a city he'd certainly never been to, faces of people he'd never met, and over it all was the panicked babble of _ohgodwhat'sgoingon? _and _whatthefuck'shappeningtome?_

The confusion was enough that it took a colossal amount of effort to concentrate, finally fixing on the distinctive brain pattern of his Alpha and settling his attention on that rather than the bombardment of thoughts and memories from the new wolf. _Where'd you need me, boss?_

_Who's that? There's another one, I don't – _

_Calm down._ And then Sam repeated, with more force, _calm down! _It was enough to temporarily stun the newcomer into quiet, but there was still an underlying rush of words which were more easily blocked out; Paul could, however, still hear the absolute disorder and horror running through everything, and it was only with experience gained from months of practice that he managed to separate his own emotions from the boy's.

_You have to calm down,_ Sam said again. _We'll explain everything, but you're not in any danger. There's no reason to panic._

_No reason? What's happening, ohgodIdon'tunderstandwhat – _

_Try taking a deep breath,_ Paul suggested helpfully. _You're allowed to freak out, but seriously – just listen to Sam._

_Sam?_ There was a moment's calm as the new wolf put the name to the Alpha's voice, almost relief at the normality. Sensing this, Sam's tone became more gentle.

_I'm Sam,_ he confirmed. _And this is Paul_. The question was implicit, and once again Paul struggled not to be swept away by the newcomer's automatic response to the unspoken inquiry of 'who are you?'

_Jeremy_, was the name which at last came through clearly amidst the other bundle of images and words, and Paul couldn't quite suppress the mental groan. Not that the others would have really missed his sudden frustration, anyway, but it merely made the new wolf – _Jeremy_ – flick his attention straight to Paul, picking up on the one thought which had flashed through his mind.

_Aw, crap. Rachel's cousin._

_You know Rachel_? The surprise was mixed in with a rapid slide-show of images: two identical girls laughing wickedly as they teased a smaller boy with a ball he couldn't reach; a slightly older girl leaning over to give her own ice cream up as another lay in a spoilt, melting puddle on the ground; a smiling teenager passing a gravy jug. It was strange to reconcile all of these dark-haired little Rachels to the one he knew now, and for a moment Paul was curiously jealous that Jeremy had all these memories he didn't.

_Yes, _he replied at last, remembering – after a pointed mental nudge from Sam – that he hadn't exactly answered the boy's question yet. There was no point in trying to conceal exactly what Rachel was to him, even if he'd wanted to, so Paul went straight in for the _She's my girlfriend._ Except because it was the open mental and emotional broadcast of the pack mind, 'girlfriend' came out more as _true love/soul mate/future wife/lover_.

_He wishes_, Sam added with a snort to the last.

_Shut up, Sam. Look_, he added as Jeremy – and wow, they'd have to shorten that name for ease of communication – projected another set of jumbled thoughts and pictures at them, _try forming a sentence first and then thinking it _at _us. It'll come through clearer. _That wasn't exactly how it worked but it was a start at least, and maybe the kid would actually make some sense of himself.

_I'm fairly impressed_, Sam murmured. _Maybe you're not as stupid as you pretend to be_.

Paul was actually struck speechless for a few seconds. _I have good ideas!_ he protested, offended, but the Alpha just chuckled.

Jeremy chose that moment to interrupt, his voice rising to a shout as he concentrated on projecting his words to the other two. _So you know my cousin_, he began carefully. _How is that possible? You're...you're a wolf_.

_Not all the time_, Sam explained. _We're werewolves. I know how that sounds, but...look around. It's real._

_And don't panic! _Paul leapt in. _You have to stay calm. _Ah, the hypocrisy...

_Werewolves don't exist,_ Jeremy muttered numbly. _They can't. They don't, you're crazy and god I want to get out of here and it's not possible I must be dreaming and I have to wake up but I can't and I need– _

As the boy spiralled off into panic once more, Paul sat back on his haunches and yawned. It was inevitable, he thought, that Jeremy would be like this for a while; actually, the boy wasn't doing too badly. Scared and bewildered, yes, but nowhere near as angrily incoherent as so many of the others had been. Once he realised that this was real – and that seemed to be a large part of the problem – he'd probably be all right.

_You're being incredibly helpful there, Paul, _Sam hissed at him.

_What? _Paul had been on the receiving end of enough sarcasm to recognise it now. _Not much we can do right this moment, boss. _Sam's response sounded suspiciously something along the lines of 'should've brought Jared', but Paul chose to ignore it. If his Alpha was really serious about that, he'd have done it, and there was a weird warm acceptance in that knowledge.

_Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head, kid._

Paul shrugged, tried not to grin (in a weird, wolfy way) as he shifted his attention back to the new kid. _How you doing, Jer?_ The shortening of the name was unconscious, so it wasn't until the new wolf's surprise registered that Paul realised he'd plucked it straight from Jeremy's memories. _Sorry,_ he apologised. _S'automatic, didn't mean to pry._

_We call it the pack mind_, Sam explained at Jeremy's confusion. _It's...every thought, every memory. Shared, so what one sees – _

– _we all see. _The finishing of his Alpha's thought wasn't _entirely_ intentional, but Sam glowered at Paul anyway.

There was a brief, almost blissful silence as if the statement had somehow short-circuited something in Jeremy's mind altogether; a total sheet of pure shock which blocked out every one of the new wolf's other thoughts. It dragged out for three interminable seconds – during which Paul had a sudden _oh-shit-we've-killed-the-new-kid_ moment – before a staggering wave of horror reasserted itself.

_Ohshitohahitohshit_, _get me the hell outta here, they'll know all about – _

_Thinking about what you don't want us to know generally doesn't help with telepathy,_ Paul interrupted loudly in an attempt to drown out the wave of guilt and terror accompanying the new wash of images. _It's kinda the definition._

_Oh_fuck_theycansee –_

_Kid. Kid!_ Sam roared once more. _Look, calm the hell down..._

And they were back pretty much to the beginning again. It was always like this. Well, Paul corrected himself, the seven (now eight) wolves he'd witnessed changing for the first time hardly counted as _always_ – you could live in hope, right? – but certainly there was a pattern. The total confusion and terror gave way eventually to horrified understanding and shaky acceptance (except in Leah's case, perhaps, because she still hadn't accepted the damn situation), but it wasn't instantaneous. No, first there was the merry-go-round of emotions, where each new revelation generally sent the newbie back into a quivering, blubbering mess, and it usually took several days for them to get over that. Often, collapsing from exhaustion helped convince them it was real. Having to suffer through their first meal of raw deer was, however, in most cases a setback regarding acceptance.

True to expectation, it took the rest of the day and most of the night to talk Jeremy – man, they needed to shorten that name, but the kid freaked every time they tried and fell back on his 'they can read my thoughts' lament – into some semblance of sanity. Jared's presence appeared later in the day as he ran a patrol, mind near silent with long practice, and the familiarity of having him there was a relief Paul felt echoed in a small corner of Sam's head.

Paul hated to admit it, but Rachel's cousin was reacting a hell of a lot better than _he_ had.

He must have been such a pain.

_And he finally gets it_, Sam sighed, tiredly exasperated as Paul rolled his (mental) eyes. In the background, Jeremy continued his constant monologue, oblivious in his growing exhaustion to Jared's amused snort from somewhere on the east border of the rez. _You were one of the worst, Paul, not that you'd ever accept it before._

_Huh_, Paul huffed in reply. _Maybe Emily was right, and Rachel is a good influence. _He didn't like to ever admit that he was wrong, but...

_You have no idea,_ Sam muttered.

_I think I do,_ Paul admitted quietly, and they were silent for a long moment, ignoring Jeremy's babble as each reflected on their mates. They'd all seen it affect the others, but never really noticed the change in themselves until it was pointed out – and then, then it was impossible to miss.

_Oh, God._ Jared was the first to jerk back into reality, horrified. _What are we doing?_

_I think girls refer to it as 'bonding',_ Paul shuddered. The three boys 'glanced' together towards Jeremy, but he was too caught up in his own tragedies to have noticed their slip.

_We're not talking about this again,_ Sam told them firmly.

_No arguments here, boss._

_Ha, that'll be the day. _In the clearing across the forest where Jeremy had finally stopped running, exploring the area with bewilderment under Sam's watchful gaze – they'd decided to only introduce the pack _physically_ one at a time, as intimidation wasn't actually on the list of 'ways to welcome the new kid' – the Alpha raised his nose to the sky to study the first light of morning as it set the clouds glowing sickly yellow. _Speaking of, you could head home. It's been a long day._

Paul would have been lying if he said that the suggestion didn't send a wave of relief washing through him. His newly responsible self, however, felt compelled to add: _Are you sure?_

Jared rolled his eyes. _Just leave already, moron._ _Go back to your girl._ His suddenly vocal exasperation was enough to attract Jeremy's attention, the boy's ears pricking up (literally) as he finally acknowledged the existence of anything beyond his own situation.

_Leave? How do you do that? Can I leave?_

Paul was already heading for La Push, his paws pounding against the ground in joyful freedom. Man, being a newbie had seriously sucked, but the worst part by far was having no visible way out – no escape.

_Thanks so much for the confidence booster there, Paul_, Sam muttered dryly as Jeremy's stress levels spiked once more.

Oops. _Anytime_, Paul offered a little guiltily, before flashing out. He'd been circling back towards the town anyway in the last hour, so he figured it was close enough to walk – and Sam probably didn't need much more of his brand of 'help'. Hey, the Alpha had known who he was asking when he chose Paul to run interference on Jeremy. He was no Emily.

The thought of Emily had Paul considering afresh the dangers and difficulties of a new werewolf. Jeremy couldn't have come at a worse time, really; the continuing dissent within the pack thanks to Jacob and the Clearwaters' desertion, not to mention the uncertain nature of the peace between the rez and Forks...if there were only one (and a half) newborn additions to the leeches' coven, Paul wondered suddenly, did that mean there'd only be Jeremy as a new wolf? The wolves still outnumbered the bloodsuckers, so maybe. On the other hand, the bloodsuckers' presence was what caused them to phase in the first place, so the more of _them_ the more wolves there'd be, right? So the transformation of Chief Swan's daughter could potentially prompt a new wave of first-time changes in kids who'd been too young to phase before.

Well, shit. Why did their genetics think it was a good idea to place the safety of the rez in the hands of thirteen year-olds, anyway? The concept of having more _children_ like Collin and Brady running around was horrifying, and Paul pushed it away to the back of his mind, concentrating instead on the gentle burn of his muscles as he loped through the slowly lightening forest towards La Push. He'd think about it later, but for now he just wanted to sleep.

It didn't take the boy very long before he arrived back in the stretch of trees behind Rachel's house. He'd have to go home at some point tomorrow (today) to reassure his mother that he was still alive and that he hadn't forgotten about her, but that would have to wait. He owed Rachel an explanation; had to break to her the news that her cousin was a werewolf. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward too, particularly since he couldn't imagine that she'd have been thrilled when he'd accidentally blurted out the question to Sam earlier.

It wasn't the first time he'd thought it, but man – he really sucked at being a good boyfriend.

Rachel, however, was amazing. As he approached the Blacks' house, Paul could see that the lamp in the hallway was still glowing and a grin rose to his lips unbidden. It was something she'd taken to doing when he was on a late patrol and had promised to come over afterwards, something which let him know that she was there – she was thinking of him – she was waiting for him. Every time he saw it, Paul's heart did something which he could only describe as a flip in his chest.

The key she'd hidden under the upturned flowerpot to one side of the door had much the same effect, except there was an accompanying spike of worry. It wasn't exactly a terribly subtle place for a key; the risk it posed if anyone (or any creature) decided to break into the house was enough to make Paul pocket the offending object with a frown after quietly closing the door behind him, sliding the deadbolt into place. It was slightly unnecessary, perhaps – of course Rachel would be safe _now_, with him in the house – but nonetheless Paul wasn't taking any chances.

Not that a simple deadbolt would stop anything that was really capable of harming his mate. And they were unlikely to enter through the front door, anyway.

Despite all his concerns about possible intruders, the little house was silent as Paul made his way towards Rachel's room on quiet feet, only broken by Billy's muffled snores from behind his closed door. Rachel's breaths, too, seemed loud in the hush as Paul eased his way around the partially open door into her bedroom, wincing as the floorboards creaked, but the slow, even rhythm didn't change.

The boy paused to study his girlfriend for a moment, the early light filtering through the gaps in the blinds enough for him to see the gentle rise and fall of her back as she lay on her stomach, legs tangled in the sheets. Her hair stood out in stark contrast to the paleness of the pillow; one hand was tucked up underneath her cheek while the other stretched out into the empty space beside her.

It struck Paul like a bolt in the chest how beautiful she was.

As much as he wanted to crawl into the bed beside her, go to sleep with her tucked close against his body, he didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful –

Wow. He should just stop thinking altogether if he wanted to maintain any semblance of male dignity in front of the pack.

There was a chair in the corner of the room with one of his shirts slung over the back of it which would do. So maybe it wouldn't be very comfortable, but honestly? Paul was tired enough that he'd be able to sleep anywhere. The light caught, however, on a small square of paper on the seat.

_Paul_, it said at the top in Rachel's handwriting. _Don't be silly, you're not sleeping here._

He tossed a glance behind him to the bed, but the woman was still asleep. How did she _know_?

_You won't wake me,_ the note continued. _And I don't like waking up cold. Get in the damn bed._

Paul grinned, wondering – for about the millionth time – how he got so lucky. Rachel was the most amazing person he'd ever met, and this message was just yet more proof of it. As he went to tuck it into the pocket of his shorts, something on the back caught his eye and he lifted it up to the light again to read.

_I love you_, it said.

There was no doubt about it this time; Paul's heart definitely flipped over in his chest.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry again for how long it took! Thanks for sticking with me, and hope you liked this chapter. Please review to let me know what you thought xxx :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Chapter 23! And it didn't take nearly as long as last time...probably because I was away for a few days with no internet access or television. Hmm.**

**It's 2am where I am, and the formatting for this chapter keeps screwing up every time I try to save it. I apologize if it's weird...let me know and I'll try to change it. Stupid -scowls-**

**Thank you to everyone who's still stuck with me on this; I really appreciate your reviews, favourites and alerts! I'd still love to hear from more of you who are reading, though...let me know about what you like you see, and I'll try and fit more of it in :)**

**How did you all like **_**Eclipse**_**? I haven't seen it yet...should probably do that at some point...**

**Enjoy the chapter! Love xxx :)**

* * *

_Paul_, the note said at the top in Rachel's handwriting. _Don't be silly, you're not sleeping here._

He tossed a glance behind him to the bed, but the woman was still asleep. How did she _know_?

_You won't wake me,_ the note continued. _And I don't like waking up cold. Get in the damn bed._

Paul grinned, wondering – for about the millionth time – how he got so lucky. Rachel was the most amazing person he'd ever met, and this message was just yet more proof of it. As he went to tuck it into the pocket of his shorts, something on the back caught his eye and he lifted it up to the light again to read.

_I love you_, it said.

There was no doubt about it this time; Paul's heart definitely flipped over in his chest.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"Honey, I _know_ how amazing an opportunity it is, I just can't –"

Paul had no idea how long he'd actually slept, but the fuzziness of his head as he rolled over with a groan told him that it hadn't been very long. He felt mildly disgruntled – it was too early for any real sort of emotion – that Rachel wasn't still tucked up next to him, but he could hear her voice so she couldn't be far. The pillow still smelled of her hair, and he buried his nose happily into it as he dozed. All was right with the world.

"Don't say that, it's not like – no, you don't understand."

Okay, all was _not_ right. Suddenly awake, Paul shot upright as he heard the distress in his mate's voice, lips curling back to show his teeth in a snarl. Who was Rachel talking to, and what right did they have to make her unhappy?

"I _am_ listening to you, Amy, but you don't, you _can't_, know everything. It's not as simple as – oh, don't give me that."

Amy. Who was Amy and what was she talking to his Rachel about? Paul swung his feet down to the floor silently, crossing to the semi-ajar door from behind which he could hear Rachel's voice. She was pacing up and down the hallway outside her bedroom, a sure sign that her usual calm had been ruffled, and through the slight gap he could see that she was on the phone.

That would explain a lot. How long had she been on it, though, talking to this Amy? Why would anyone call this early, anyway?

"Amy, just stop. _Stop_. You don't know everything about me, so please don't think you can make my decisions for me." Rachel's voice was rising in anger, but she still kept it low enough in an obvious effort not to wake Paul. "Yes, this internship is an incredible opportunity, but it's in Boise. I can't go to Idaho, can't go that far away – I know what I'm giving up and yes, it kills me, but I just _can't_ –"

Paul felt suddenly sick, his stomach dropping down to his toes. He couldn't believe that this was happening again – that Rachel hadn't told him, that she was giving up something this big, something this important to her, because of _him_.

"No, I'm not being ridiculous. I'm _not_.It's not as simple as you seem to think, Amy. You don't understand," Rachel repeated. "And I don't hate it here. Yes, I know what I said in college, but –"

_I know what I said in college_. She'd said that she hated La Push, Paul was certain – and yet now she was forced to stay, for him. He found himself sinking slowly down to the floor, agonized and horrified at the revelation of what this imprint really meant for Rachel. How could she love him if it meant giving up everything she'd worked towards, everything she'd ever said? How could he stand himself if he forced her to stay? She'd end up hating him, he knew, and he'd hate himself for making her miserable and it'd be once huge circle of self-loathing and hate.

"Things change." Rachel's voice was quiet now. "No – don't. Just _don't_, Amy. Please." The words wavered – cracked – and then Paul could hear her crying, hear the tears thick in her voice. "Don't bring that up now," she whispered. "It's not about that."

There was a long pause as the girl on the other end spoke, but Paul was too confused to try to make out her words. He wanted, so much, to go out and comfort Rachel, but there was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach which told him that she wouldn't _want_ to see him right now, wouldn't want what comfort he would try to offer.

He was, after all, the reason she was being forced to give up so much. Why wouldn't she just talk to him about it? It seemed to be a habit that he only found out what Rachel was really thinking when she discussed it with other people – when he wasn't supposed to hear. Now she was crying, and he couldn't do anything about it because he wasn't meant to know.

His own eyes blurry with what he refused to consider tears, Paul made to scramble upright. Rachel wouldn't want to see him now, wouldn't want to be reminded of the reason for having to stay. She hadn't wanted to tell him, and admitting that he'd overheard was more than Paul could bear to do.

Fate, however, had other plans. His foot caught on the edge of the door as he stood, pushing it open, and Paul found himself frozen under Rachel's horrified gaze.

Her face paled, the redness of her eyes standing out all the more clearly in contrast. "Amy, I have to go," she stammered, fumbling to hang up, but her fingers shook and the phone fell to the floor with a thud.

"_Rach? Rachel?" _A girl's voice, suddenly magnified – Rachel must have hit the speaker button by accident – rang out angrily. "_Don't you dare hang up on me, Rachel. I know you, honey, and this isn't what you want. We both know there's only one reason you went home in the first place, and –_"

Paul reached out and clicked the button to end the call. With unsteady fingers he lifted the phone, offering it to Rachel, but she merely stared at it with wide eyes as if it was a snake. He let it hang there for several long seconds before it slipped through his nerveless fingers to land on the floor once more.

"Who was that?" Paul managed to choke the words out at last.

"Amy," Rachel replied slowly. "She was my roommate."

His heart sank – yet again, even further – at her words. Suddenly the claims of the girl, _Amy_, to knowing Rachel held a new weight. _This isn't what you want,_ she'd said. _I know you._

"I wish you'd talk to me," he blurted abruptly. It was the wrong thing to say; Rachel's reddened eyes narrowed, her arms crossing over her chest defensively.

"I talk to you." Her eyes didn't meet his, and that single evasion had Paul's frustration bubbling over.

"Not about things that are important to _you_, Rachel! I only ever find out that something's wrong if I overhear it. Why won't you tell me, Rach?" he added helplessly. "An internship in Boise – that's incredible, but I didn't _know_ about it. I'm supposed to be here for you –"

"And what exactly would you have said if I had told you?" Rachel hissed, eyes flashing with sudden fire as she stepped closer. "You can't leave here, and I can't just walk away from you. Why worry you unnecessarily?"

Paul couldn't help but flinch at the bitter bite of her words. "I don't care if you think it's unnecessary. You're my _mate_, Rachel. I'm supposed to be whatever you need, I'm supposed to look after you. If you're worried, I'm meant to know so I can _help_."

"Oh, and is that meant to work both ways? Right, just like you told me that you were _worried_ my cousin might be turning into a werewolf."

_Oh, shit_. "This isn't about him, it's about you," Paul argued. "About _us_."

"Don't give me that, Paul. If you're fine with Jeremy sacrificing absolutely everything to become part of the pack, why should you care so much about me turning down one little job?"

"It's not 'one little job', Rachel, it's what you want. It's –"

Where it had been pale before, Rachel's face was now flushed bright pink with barely contained fury. "Don't tell me what I want, Paul."

"Why won't _you _tell me then?"

Rachel was suddenly very close, but there was nothing intimate in her proximity. Her voice was dangerously low as she spoke. "Don't push me, Paul. You might not like what you hear."

"I'd rather know what you're really thinking than have to find out another way!" he snapped. "Like overhearing you tell one of your friends, again. How am I supposed to know –"

"And even if I told you, what would you do?" she hissed back. "I never wanted to be stuck here again, Paul, and I told you that before. You promised to talk to Sam about it, to ask if you'd be able to leave the pack at some point, and that was enough. Just knowing that I might be able to get out of here, but you didn't _do_ anything about it, did you?"

"How can I ask Sam to leave the pack now?" Paul snarled. "Since Leah left – because of Jacob –"

"Oh, no." Rachel prodded him hard in the middle of his chest, stepping even closer so that there was practically no distance between them and he could feel her heart, fast and angry, thudding against his arm where his hand had snapped up to catch her wrist. "Don't you _dare_ bring my brother into this. Leaving the damn pack is the only choice he's been able to make for himself in this whole fucking mess."

Paul's mouth dropped open; he stared at his mate in wide-eyed horror, suddenly comprehending just how exactly she viewed the situation. "Are you...are you saying...?"

"Come on, Paul. Can you tell me that you honestly wanted this? A mate you couldn't choose, who can barely stand the place you're bound to protect? I'm Jacob's sister. And don't you think I've noticed that the girls you've all imprinted on – we're little more than breeding partners, with the best genetic chance of passing on this freak werewolf gene. It's not _fate_, Paul, whatever does this isn't concerned about your happiness. Do you really think that I'm the best match for you? Would you have even looked at me twice otherwise?"

The silence was deafening. Paul couldn't speak – his mouth too dry to form the words which would convey his utter dismay and bewilderment, confusion at Rachel's sudden outburst. Of _course_ Rachel was the perfect woman for him; he loved everything about her, right down to the ambition and passion which pushed her to leave the rez. How could she think otherwise?

They could only stare at one another for a moment which seemed to lapse into hours, Paul still struggling to find the words which would encompass everything he felt, everything he wanted to say, until Rachel dropped her gaze and took a step back. "That's what I thought."

"What? No! Rachel –"

"Rachel?" Billy's voice came ghosting down the hallway a moment before he appeared around the corner. "Paul, I thought you were here. That was your mother."

"What?" He blinked, confused. It felt as if his world had suddenly been completely upturned, and he had no idea what was going on.

Billy frowned at him. "The phone. Your mom called."

Paul glanced around, bewildered, his gaze falling on Rachel, but she resolutely refused to make eye contact. "I..."

"It was to remind you that school starts this morning. She didn't want you to forget." Billy shot him one more concerned look – brows furrowed, eyes dark and unreadable – before slowly turning his chair back around. "I'll, er...leave you to it."

Neither Paul nor Rachel spoke as he squeaked away. It was only when Billy was gone that the words sunk in, and a sweeping sense of frustration washed back over Paul. "Shit!" He didn't realize until the plaster dust settled on the floor that he'd punched the wall.

Rachel looked at him then, but her face was expressionless, eyes cold. "You have to go."

Her distance terrified him far more than any vampire ever could. "I don't have to, I can –"

"You're going to _fucking_ school, Paul." Her rage was cold, somehow much worse than the heated anger of a few minutes before.

"I'm not leaving you like this, Rachel," he told her desperately. "I can't – I've got to –"

"You're going to school." The boy noted that her hands were clenched into fists at her side; her shoulders stiff, face rigid. She seemed so far away despite the mere steps separating them. "You're not going to end up in some deadbeat job stacking shelves in a grocery store for the rest of your life, Paul, waiting around just in case the pack needs you. The vampires aren't going to be here forever, and I will _not_ let you waste yourself like that."

Paul heard the words differently, however. He heard the frustration behind them of being stuck in La Push, the anger that he didn't seem to be doing anything to get away from the rez for her. Her fury at the concept of him missing even one day of school was merely displacement for her real emotions; that she was bound to him when she wanted nothing to do with the sixteen year-old werewolf freak she couldn't escape from.

In the face of his broken heart – of knowing, finally, the truth that Rachel didn't want him – Paul could only bow his head under the weight of his own helplessness and sorrow. "I'll go," he mumbled. He couldn't meet her eyes, couldn't bear to see the rejection and pity he knew was in the beautiful face he loved so much, and rather than have to walk past her out of the door he turned blindly for the window.

"Paul –"

But he was already running for the forest, numb with the pain of knowing that Rachel was only still here because she had to be, and wanting only to get away from everyone and everything for a few minutes. He'd have carried on running all day, lost in his own misery, but he had to go to school; he had to do everything in his power which would allow Rachel to be a step closer to leaving La Push.

He didn't notice how hard he was trembling until he fell forward onto four paws, his clothes ripping away from him in shreds, and his mind was invaded by the noise and confusion of the pack.

_Paul, what's the matter? _Jared demanded. _What – _

_Rachel._ Brady answered for him, snatching it straight from Paul's head in concern. _Oh, man..._

_Girls suck._

_Not helping, Collin_, Jared snapped.

_Paul. Met you before? Rachel. What's happened to Rachel?_ Sudden alarm came from a surprisingly coherent Jeremy, but Paul couldn't cool his thoughts enough to marvel at the new wolf's progress.

_Your cousin's fine_. Jared was obviously in charge, tone firm and authoritative in Sam's absence. _Paul, you need to get yourself calm enough to phase back. Come to my place; I'll meet you there. _He paused, thoughts racing through his head too quickly for the others to read. _Damn, we'll have to bring Sam back for Jeremy. Collin, Brady, go get ready for school. Send Sam._

_Yes, mom. I'll call Sam._

_School! Damn... _The two youngest boys flickered out.

_Paul,_ Jared insisted. _We'll work this out. I'm fairly certain you read the situation wrong, you have to cool off – _

_What happened?_ Jeremy interrupted. _What's going on? Why would Rachel not be able to leave the rez –_

_Not now, Jeremy. Look, we have to go but Sam'll be here in –_

There was a buzz of power, almost like the static on a radio, and the Alpha appeared. _What the hell, Jared?_

_My mom'll kill me if I miss the first day of school, Sam._

The Alpha grunted. _Fair enough. What's up with Paul?_

Miserably, the boy let the entire conversation – argument – flash through his head once again. Sam sucked in a sharp breath of something like sympathy and irritation.

_Rachel's having a hard time adjusting,_ he translated. _God, that family...sorry, Jeremy,_ he added at the last moment.

_Uh...no worries?_

_Good man. Jared, could you please do something about Paul?_

_I'm there now_. Jared came bounding up alongside Paul where he was trotting, head low and tail tucked between his legs, among the trees not far from the town. He didn't say or even think anything, but instead nudged his nose into Paul's neck in wordless sympathy. A moment later, the wolf was gone and Jared himself stood there, moving swiftly to reach up into the lower branches of a particular tree to pull down an old bag.

"Here, put these on." He flung a pair of cut-offs at Paul. "Don't fucking rip them. I'll see you at the front door – my mom thinks I was home all night."

"Mommy's boy," Paul insulted him automatically, but his heart wasn't really in it and Jared paused.

"God, this is really bad, isn't it?" he murmured. "Paul, man, think about it. You're looking at this all wrong – you both are. Nothing's _forcing_ her to stay here. If she didn't feel anything for you, there'd be absolutely nothing to keep her here. You hear me?"

Paul shook his head miserably. "She thinks she has to stay. That's the only reason –"

His words were cut short as his friend grabbed him, a hand on each shoulder, and physically shook him, teeth glinting white in a frustrated snarl. "For god's sake! The girl fucking _loves_ you, man, it's so damn obvious only an idiot like you would ever doubt it. You've said it yourself before: your imprint is the person best suited to you, the other half of you. You fucking _told_ Rachel that even if you weren't a wolf, she'd still be perfect for you. That's what you've got to believe. That's the truth."

"Get _off_ me, Jared." Paul shrugged the other boy's grip off with half-hearted anger. Jared's words had sparked in him an avalanche of memories, images of all the time he'd spent with Rachel – everything she'd said to him – every time she'd told him she loved him. That couldn't have been a lie, could it? This imprint, it was more than that.

"You know what your problem is?" Jared pushed on ruthlessly. "You're scared that you're not gonna be good enough for her. Listen to me, Paul: _that's not true. _You're her soulmate; you're everything that's perfect for her. You've just got to fucking believe it."

Paul could only stare at Jared. Sure, they had the whole telepathic thing going, but how could Jared know so exactly how he was feeling, every dark little fear he'd kept locked up inside that part of his mind even the pack couldn't see?

"I've been there," Jared spoke as if he knew the words going through Paul's head. "I've _been_ there. Maybe it's not the same issue of wanting to leave the rez, but it's not been smooth sailing with Kim either. Sam and Emily, too – God, you know the problems they've had. It's every relationship, Paul, not just yours. It just feels worse because it _matters_ so damn much."

He spun away, leaving Paul speechless, before rounding back on him with a scowl.

"Just _think _about it, Paul. Don't let yourself fuck this up. And never, ever mention this convo to the guys, or I'll kick your ass." Jared stomped away towards the back of his house, but Paul remained frozen where he was for a few minutes, utterly dumbfounded.

_Well, fuck_

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review, and I'll try to update as soon as possible xxx :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Sorry it's taken so long again to update...I haven't even been that busy, just couldn't get my head around this chapter. Oh, and there are some awesome Leverage fics out there... -whistles-**

**I've finally seen Eclipse! Definitely the best film so far :) And maybe it was just me, but Paul was awesome :D**

**Thanks again for all your reviews, I love hearing from you all! They're a nice reminder I have to get my act together and write the next chapter, too :P**

**Chapter 25 - the longest so far! Paul's still freaking out about his argument with Rachel...and the day's date is September 13th, if that means anything to any of you...**

**I don't know if any of my readers are British A-level students - but if so, GOOD LUCK for tomorrow! Results day, and I'm not scared at all... -crosses fingers-**

**Anyway, enjoy! Love xxx :)**

* * *

You know what your problem is?" Jared pushed on ruthlessly. "You're scared that you're not gonna be good enough for her. Listen to me, Paul: _that's not true. _You're her soulmate; you're everything that's perfect for her. You've just got to fucking believe it."

Paul could only stare at Jared. Sure, they had the whole telepathic thing going, but how could Jared know so exactly how he was feeling, every dark little fear he'd kept locked up inside that part of his mind even the pack couldn't see?

"I've been there," Jared spoke as if he knew the words going through Paul's head. "I've _been_ there. Maybe it's not the same issue of wanting to leave the rez, but it's not been smooth sailing with Kim either. Sam and Emily, too – God, you know the problems they've had. It's every relationship, Paul, not just yours. It just feels worse because it _matters_ so damn much."

He spun away, leaving Paul speechless, before rounding back on him with a scowl.

"Just _think _about it, Paul. Don't let yourself fuck this up. And never, ever mention this convo to the guys, or I'll kick your ass." Jared stomped away towards the back of his house, but Paul remained frozen where he was for a few minutes, utterly dumbfounded.

_Well, fuck._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"Paul! _Paul!"_

He heard his name yelled at the top of someone's lungs across the street and turned eagerly, hoping that the girl calling him would be Rachel, but his heart sank as he saw it was only his sister. Then he felt guilty for being disappointed, because he hadn't seen much of Haley for days and he _did_ love her despite the bad singing, the High School Musical reruns, and the basic little sisterdom he was forced to suffer through with her. He'd never tell her, of course.

"Hey, midget!" he greeted her with a grin as she ran up, hair bouncing behind her in its braid. "What'cha doing?"

Haley rolled her eyes with all the long-suffering of a nearly-eleven year-old. "I'm _not_ a midget. And don't you ever check your cell, Paul? Mom called you, you're picking me up." Her bottom lip quivered, eyes growing suddenly very large and round. "You didn't _forget_ about me, did you?"

"No! Of course I didn't!" Paul glanced around frantically for help. He knew Haley wasn't really crying, but even the pretence was usually enough to get him in trouble. Unfortunately, nobody was there to help; only Jared stood with Kim a short distance away, watching quizzically. Paul was supposed to be going back to Jared's house, he remembered, where they were formulating a plan of how he could get Rachel back. "I'll take you home, Hales. But then I've got to go –"

"See Rachel?" His sister's entire face brightened. "I haven't seen her for ages, Paul, can she come to dinner? Please?"

Paul didn't answer for a moment, and Haley's expression changed. She abruptly looked a lot like their mother.

"Oh, Paul. What did you do?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Why do you automatically assume it's _my_ fault, anyway? Aren't you meant to be on my side?"

Haley shook her head in pity. "Don't be ridiculous, Paul. What happened?" she demanded.

Paul hung his head in the face of his little sister's disapproval. It sucked that she seemed to like Rachel better than him; who'd taught her how to tie her shoelaces and punch bullies? "She turned down a job in Boise," he told her dully.

Haley cocked her head to one side. "Did you want her to go there?"

"No! Well," he amended, "I don't want her to leave, but she wanted the job. It's an amazing opportunity..." His voice trailed away as he realised he was echoing Rachel's words of that morning, hated to remind himself again of the conversation which had crushed him.

"Obviously she didn't want it that badly," Haley replied ingenuously. "Not if she said no to it."

"She _did_ want it, though! But she thought she had to stay here..."

"...And she chose that." His sister's brow was crinkled as she tried to understand. "So what you're saying is that you have a problem with her wanting to be here with _you _more than she wanted the job."

Put like that, he sounded like an idiot.

"You're a moron, Paul."

He wanted to agree, but if he did Haley would never, ever let him forget it.

"I mean, it's not like you're totally stuck here, is it? You can move too. Can't you transfer?"

The denial was instantaneous. "Hales, Mom would never let that happen." Not to mention that he was sort of tied to the werewolf pack on the rez, but Haley didn't need to know about that. Although...once this was all over...wouldn't transferring schools be a possibility? Sure, his mom would have an epi...

"I guess. Mom's totally mad at you, by the way." Haley changed topic cheerfully. "You were _s'posed_ to be home for dinner yesterday, and you weren't. You better make sure you turn up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?" Paul was still stuck on the possibility of transferring schools – that is, if Rachel would ever talk to him again. If she wanted him. Jared, when given the blow-by-blow account of everything Rachel had said and done in the course of their argument, had been adamant that Paul had read the situation wrongly; she hadn't been saying she didn't _want_ to be his mate, just that she'd rather have had a choice about it. And someone who didn't live in La Push.

_Girls get mad,_ he'd told Paul. _We just have to apologise and mean it, even if we don't know exactly what we've done. You _have_ told her you love her, haven't you?_

It was fairly good advice, Paul decided, even if it had come from Jared. It was the only thing which had kept him from running straight out of school at lunch to find Rachel – that, and Kim's warning that he was not, _under any circumstances_, to go meet her with some 'half-assed apology he hadn't fully thought through'.

_Give her some time,_ Jared had translated with a fond grin at his own mate. _And for god's sake, dude, don't skip out on school after what she said this morning. Prove you're willing to work to provide for her, or some shit._ Kim had been less than impressed by that statement, but Paul could see the sense behind it. He had to work to get off the rez.

"Paul? Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Paul remembered, belatedly, that he was supposed to be listening to his little sister, and receive an elbow in the stomach for his lack of attention.

"_Ow_! What do you eat, rocks?" Haley sniggered at her own wit, but Paul merely rolled his eyes. "You are so not getting a present now. I _said_, you better make sure you come to your own birthday dinner tomorrow night. You remember _that_, don't you?"

His birthday. Paul had forgotten his own birthday. To be fair, he'd been a little preoccupied recently. "Of course, Hales," he lied. "I'll be there."

"Well _duh_, it's your birthday. Are you bringing Rachel?"

"I'll ask her." Paul was relieved to note that they'd made it back home. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with Haley – occasionally, and for very short lengths of time – but right now he had to find Rachel. It had been hours since he'd spoken to her, and as pathetic as that sounded (even to himself) it was a long time to leave someone after an argument. "Tell Mom...I'm sorry, I left my cell at Jared's by accident."

"What, you're going? Aren't you going to keep me company for even a _little _while?" Oh, god. She was pouting.

"I've got to talk to Rachel," Paul told her guiltily as he reached up to grab the spare key from its hiding place for his (very short) sister. "But...I guess...you can hang out with us tomorrow. Before – after dinner. That okay, Hales?"

"Awesome!" Her smile was back. "Go talk to Rachel, then. And don't be an idiot – oh, wait. Too late."

"It's okay, Hales," Paul mocked her with fake sympathy. "You're only ten. You'll figure out some good comebacks sooner or later."

She paused, face reddening as she fought to find something suitable to say in counter to his teasing. "You suck!" Haley managed at last, chin tipped high into the air in defiance. "And I'm nearly eleven."

"Whatever, midget. I'll see you later."

"Not a midget!" she yelled after him as he set off back along the road, grinning at her outrage. It was good to spend time with his baby sister again.

As soon as he was fairly sure he'd given Haley enough time to get in the house and become occupied with something – probably whichever crappy programme on the Disney channel she was currently obsessed with – Paul doubled back to creep around the house and into the forest.

_Not really here, guys,_ he told the others as soon as he'd taken wolf form, already starting to run. _Just getting from a to b. Ignore me._

_And how will that be any different from normal? _Quil grumbled, but without any real annoyance. _Have to say, dude, you're one hell of a lot more cheerful than you were this morning._

_Did you speak to my cousin?_ Jeremy wondered loudly. While his rush of thoughts was still far more noisy than any of the rest of the pack, he was at least making an effort to concentrate his more public ideas, so the kid was making progress. _Hey, I'm older than you! Don't call me 'kid'._

It was odd to think that that newest wolf was two years older than him, especially when there were times when he seemed so much less mature than even Collin. Jeremy hadn't had the weight of the lives of La Push on his shoulders for long, however, hadn't killed, and for that reason Paul considered him younger. _Sorry_, Paul apologized with a mental shrug. _And I'm heading over to Rachel's now._

_Paul – _Sam's hesitation came through and the boy stiffened. What was he needed for _now?_ but then the Alpha let out a short breath. _Talk to your mate. I'll update you on what's happened later._

_Oh, no._ That had all of Paul's instincts on edge. _No, tell me now._

_I was about to call the others together, but you can skip out this time. It's just an update, really – the Swan girl's got through, she's awake. Except – _

_Little miss oh-so-perfect appears to have circumnavigated the entire point of being a bloodsucker_, Quil butted in. _Apparently, she can control her bloodlust already._

Paul couldn't help the snort of derision. _Wouldn't you just fucking know it?_

_Well, Bella was never exactly normal, was she? _Quil rolled his eyes.

Paul turned his attention back to Sam. _How does this change things? _he asked.

_It doesn't. _The Alpha's response was instant. _We're still on alert._

_Great._ He paused._ Nothing's happening tonight, then?_

_Nothing_, Sam growled with obvious disgruntlement.

_You sure you don't need me then? _Paul didn't wait for an answer as he slowed to a lope, approaching the spot behind the Blacks' house where he last left some clothes. _Well, this is my stop. See you around._

_Good luck_. The actual sincerity in Quil's tone surprised Paul for a moment – they weren't exactly close – but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

_Thanks, man._

Jeez, this whole situation was getting weirder and weirder. First with Bella getting knocked up by her leech husband – and seriously, weren't vampires supposed to be dead? Or did he make her pregnant with venom, because that was _nasty_ – and then Jake imprinting on the spawn which clawed its way out of Bella's stomach like that thing from the crappy eighties series his dad made him watch once.

Wow, he could really have done without giving himself that visual.

The point was, the amount of crazy that had been going down in the past few weeks, it was entirely believable that they had a non-blood-sucking-bloodsucker running around Forks. It just seemed too _easy_, though. After all the angst and worry they'd had over a newborn vampire – over _two_ newborn leeches – the fact that neither of them appeared to be posing any sort of threat whatsoever seemed far too... Paul searched for the word, couldn't quite find it. Things like that didn't happen, and he was speaking as a teenage werewolf created to fight vampires.

On that note, he was standing on the doorstep of Rachel's house, one hand poised to knock. Sure, he knew the door would be open, but...especially after this morning, he'd wait for Rachel to come to him. Shit, maybe he should have brought her some flowers or something.

It struck him then that they hadn't really done any of the traditional dating stuff. Sure, they'd hung out together, but they hadn't been on a real date. Maybe that was part of the reason Rachel had been so mad at him this morning, Paul mused. Girls very rarely said why they were really upset, after all.

When he entered the living room after Billy's call to "Come on in!", however, he faced Rachel's father wearing a scowl. "She's not here," he said without any preamble.

"Oh." Paul didn't want to admit just how much that crushed him, but he was too slow to stop his face from falling and Billy sighed.

"Look, kid –" And didn't that sound ominous? "You know I'm not exactly a fan of this whole thing you've got going here with my girl. Your mom's worried about it too, but she doesn't understand what's going on. I know you don't have a choice –"

"That's not true!" Paul interrupted hotly. "Sir," he added quickly as Billy's eyebrows shot upward. "What I mean...yes, I know it's the imprint which made me _care_ about Rachel, made her the most important thing in my life. But it wasn't that which made me love her, not really."

It wasn't at all embarrassing blurting that one out in front of the tribe elder. Not at all. Paul totally wasn't blushing.

Billy studied him with that seemingly omniscient gaze for a long moment, Paul doing his best not to squirm, before giving a single nod. "You've changed, boy. You have," he insisted as the boy opened his mouth to protest. "You make Rachel happier than I've seen her for a long time. And because of that, I'm going to tell you that she went down to the beach."

It took Paul a moment to find his voice. That was as close to approval as he would ever receive from the taciturn elder, but coming from Billy that was practically a declaration of acceptance and Paul couldn't wait to tell Rachel. If she'd talk to him, of course. "Thanks, Billy."

"Hey, boy." Already halfway to the door, Paul stopped and turned to look back at the older man. He seemed to be struggling with something, dark brows drawn together. "Just...Rachel doesn't get upset about much. As much as I hate to say it, it might not just be your fault. Well go on," he added irritably as Paul gaped at him, "hanging around here's not going to do any good. _I'm_ not going to feed you."

"Thank you," the boy said again. He hesitated, waiting to see if Billy was going to say anything else, but Rachel's father turned his chair back to face the tv as if Paul hadn't ever been there. "I, er...I'll just go then."

Billy didn't reply, so Paul backed out of the house in a hurry and turned to head towards the rocky beach. The last time he'd gone along this route alone, he realised, was the day he'd first seen Rachel, the day the imprint had changed his entire existence. He really wasn't that same boy who'd loped along between the trees in wolf form, mind only on the exhilaration of the wind in his fur as he ran and his largest problem the indistinct danger of a broken treaty.

Rachel was standing in almost the same spot as she had been those long weeks ago, the waves surging up the beach lapping only inches from the toes of her sneakers. With her dark hair whipping loose around her shoulders, she appeared years younger – years more vulnerable, the impression only heightened by the arms she wrapped tightly around her own torso in a vain attempt to stave off the biting chill of the wind.

"Rachel?" Paul only called her name quietly when he was closer, but she spun around as if he'd yelled, eyes dark and huge. He had barely a moment to register before she launched herself across the few metres between them, arms flying around his neck to hold him as close as she possibly could, face buried in his shoulder. Paul's hands lifted automatically to support her, warm her as her entire body shivered, but it took his mind a moment longer to catch up and even when it did all he could really register was how _right_ she felt in his arms.

When Rachel pulled back she didn't go far, one hand on each of his cheeks as he bent his forehead down to rest against hers. "Paul," she breathed against his lips. "I was afraid that you'd...that you wouldn't –" The wetness on her face could have been salt spray from the sea.

"Of course not," he denied instantly.

"I called you. So many times – right after you left, and during the day, but you never answered your phone. I thought –"

"I didn't have it. Don't ever think..." He couldn't even finish it. "Rachel, I'm sorry. I'm so stupidly sorry, I didn't mean –"

Her lips were on his almost sooner than he noticed she'd moved, hard and desperate and biting as she kissed him like it was her only chance and everything she felt was poured into that one action. One of Paul's hands slid up to the back of Rachel's neck, tangling in her hair to press her even closer, while the other tightened on her hip to secure her even more firmly against him.

Only when his lungs were screaming with lack of oxygen did Paul pull back, and even then Rachel clung tightly so that their cheeks remained pressed together, sharing the same air as they each caught their breath.

"We need to talk," Rachel murmured at last. "I know how that sounds, but it's not –"

Paul cut her off by pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, barely even needing to turn his head. "I know."

At least five minutes passed, neither of them making any semblance of effort to move.

"It wasn't totally about you," Rachel spoke quietly at last. "I... Amy brought up some things I'd been trying to forget, and which I meant to tell you before, but...when you overheard, it made me feel so _guilty_ that I blew up at you instead and –"

"Hey. _Hey,_" Paul repeated as she ducked his gaze. "I love you, you know that? You can tell me whatever. _Anything_."

The empty space in his arms as Rachel drew back was colder than even the bitter wind should have made it. "It scares me," she told him softly. "Because I know how much you mean that, and it's...you're _sixteen, _Paul. You're not meant to have to worry about someone else like this. All this shit you have to deal with; I don't want to see you sacrifice your future for that, and not for _me_. I refused to do that, and I won't be..." She ducked her head down.

Paul waited.

"My last boyfriend...he asked me to give up so much to be with him," Rachel said at last. Her voice was measured, but by now Paul knew her well enough to recognise how much she hated saying it. "He didn't like me spending too much time with my friends, didn't see any value in any of the things I did, and I...I let him tell me. I didn't realise just how much..." Her voice trailed away, and in the silence that followed it took every ounce of Paul's newly acquired self-control not to explode with rage at the nerve of the _asshole_ who'd made his Rachel so miserable.

"Go on," he prompted gently at last.

She paused a moment longer before speaking, fingers twisting absently in the fabric of his shirt. "Long story short, I finally listened to what Amy and everyone else was telling me about him. I was planning on moving in with him – getting whatever work I could just to support him while he continued grad school. But when I said I didn't want to give what _I_ wanted up, he broke up with me."

"And Amy's afraid that you're doing the same thing for me," Paul surmised. There was a sick feeling in his stomach, a horrible churning dread. "You _are_ doing that for me."

Rachel's eyes shot up to his, wide in instantaneous denial. "No! I'm not. I'm _not_. Paul, I can wait a year, two years, for you to finish up school here, to sort everything out and if that doesn't work there's always Seattle and Portland. I complain about being here, but I'd so much rather this than being a whole state away. I want _this_ so much more than Boise."

"Rachel." Paul swallowed thickly. "It's still you giving up what you want to stay here. It's you sacrificing everything you want for _me_."

"Not everything I want." Her eyes flickered up to his hotly. "And I'm not sacrificing the rest of it, Paul. I'm postponing it. I just...I just can't understand why _you'd_ be willing to move away from everything you know, all that you have here. You'd be the one sacrificing it all for me and I don't – I just can't –"

With the hand resting on her hip, Paul tugged Rachel back against him. "There's nothing I have here that I'd rather keep than you."

"Exactly. That's _exactly_ it, Paul."

He stared at her for a long moment, abruptly overwhelmed by just how damn lucky he was but still not entirely sure where her argument lay. "Then why...?"

"Why _me, _Paul? What did I do to deserve this – to deserve you?"

"You...what?" Utterly incredulous, Paul couldn't work out what to say. "That's...Rachel," he managed finally, "I don't know exactly how it works, but I imprinted on you. _You_. You're the other half of my soul. You said before that I had no choice, but...it's bigger than that. It's bigger than everything else."

Wordlessly, she reached up to cup his face in her hands, pressed her lips against his for several long seconds before drawing back, eyes huge and shining with curious tears. Paul rubbed one thumb gently across her cheekbone to wipe away the wetness there.

"You're _it_ for me, Rach. And nothing else will ever be great enough to come before you. I could never ask you to sacrifice your happiness for me. I love you." His thumb slid down to brush across her lips. "Never ever doubt that."

"I don't," she promised."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your comments - did Rachel's explanation make sense? And on another note - if you just happened to be Paul and planning a first date, where would you go? ;D xxx :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Sorry that this is a little late again - I've just started uni! Taking a moment out of freshers' week to post this...**

**Huge thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate it :)**

**I hope you enjoy the new chapter! I'll try to update again as soon as I can xxx :)**

* * *

_Wordlessly, she reached up to cup his face in her hands, pressed her lips against his for several long seconds before drawing back, eyes huge and shining with curious tears. Paul rubbed one thumb gently across her cheekbone to wipe away the wetness there._

"_You're it for me, Rach. And nothing else will ever be great enough to come before you. I could never ask you to sacrifice your happiness for me. I love you." His thumb slid down to brush across her lips. "Never ever doubt that." _

"_I don't," she promised."_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Their argument – and the subsequent discussion at the beach – seemed to have cleared up all of Rachel's remaining reservations regarding their relationship, and left Paul in what the other pack members termed as a 'disgustingly' good mood. Nonetheless, he could quite cheerfully withstand the taunts and teasing which would have previously (pre-Rachel) thrown him into violent rage. That was probably, he decided, what they were referring to. It also helped that the general tension had eased enormously with the suddenly cordial relations with the faction on the other side of the border; not only were they now apparently talking to Jake, but the Cullens were no longer to be viewed as an imminent danger.

Paul, personally, wasn't entirely convinced by Jake's assurances that both Bella and the demon spawn (he still refused to acknowledge 'Renesmee' as a name) posed no threat whatsoever to either the pack or the residents of the rez and Forks. They were newborn bloodsuckers; it was part of the job description that they go crazy and try to kill people. It wasn't that he _wanted_ that to happen, but he had geared himself up to expect _some_ sort of battle and was now oddly disappointed that he wasn't going to have the opportunity to kick some vampire ass. Or Jake's, because he still hadn't quite forgiven the other boy for throwing him through the wall of the shed yet.

On the other hand, Rachel seemed enormously relieved that her brother and boyfriend weren't at war anymore, so there was an upside to the whole situation. Actually, Paul admitted, there were several advantages, including the reduced patrols – he'd actually managed to make it to his own birthday dinner after all. Quil and Embry had stopped being _quite_ so whiny, and he was managing to get most of his schoolwork done as well which not only made Rachel happy (always a positive) but kept his mom off his back too.

More to the point, Rachel was in a perfect position to act as private tutor which provided an ideal excuse for them to spend more time together than his mom would have been otherwise entirely thrilled about; Rachel's dedication towards Paul's education was also helping to soothe his parents' concerns about the two of them dating.

Yes, he'd finally managed to organise a real date. Having been unable to think of a plan himself which would take place nearby (he couldn't leave the rez on week nights and Rachel was working at the weekend), and on a very limited budget (he had no money), he'd turned at last to Emily for advice.

"Don't tell anyone else," he'd pleaded. They'd find out anyway – of course they would – but it was still nice to have the _illusion_ of privacy. Emily had laughed, reaching up to pat his cheek with one hand.

"Of course not." The knowing glint in her eyes made him wonder whether she'd been asked the same question before by Jared. "What do you want me to do?"

Emily, Paul decided now, was amazing. Not only did she promise not to tell anyone else about his difficulties in organising the date, but she also helped him to pack the picnic and made sure Sam knew he was off duty that Saturday afternoon. A picnic maybe hadn't been the _best_ idea in the world, as it picked that day to rain – heavy, driving rain which didn't let up all day and had you soaked through almost the moment you stepped outside – but the look on Rachel's face as she saw him waiting for her outside the grocery store when she finished work swept away all of Paul's disgruntlement at his plans being ruined.

That was why they had now ended up back in Jacob's (newly repaired) workshop, soaked to the skin and laughing. The rain had churned up the ground between the house and shed into thick, sticky mud and even though Rachel climbed up onto Paul's back to save her shoes, the bag with their food was sodden where he'd dropped it after she leaned down to kiss him.

Hair hanging in dripping strings around her face, Rachel slammed the door behind them and promptly climbed back into Paul's lap. She didn't kiss him then, just leaned forward instead so that their faces were so very nearly touching; but the few millimetres between them still felt like a million miles to Paul as he inhaled her scent, made strong and sweet by the rain.

"I love you so much," she murmured, and he could almost taste the words in her breath ghosting over his lips.

There was absolutely nothing Paul could say to express just how exactly he felt about Rachel in that moment, so he leant in to kiss her instead, lips soft and slow as he tried to say with them everything he couldn't find words for.

They kissed like that for a long time with the rain beating against the roof outside, the entire world disappearing because really all that mattered was in the dusty little shed, and that was enough. Rachel's mouth twisted up into a smile against his moments before she finally pulled away. "I'm cold," the girl murmured, and before he could say anything in response lifted her arms to pull off her sodden shirt.

Paul swallowed hard.

"Won't that make you colder?" he asked weakly, trying desperately not to look down even as his hands settled on the suddenly bare skin where her hips flared out just above her jeans.

Rachel laughed softly, bringing one hand up to brush up along the side of his neck, and he pressed into her touch involuntarily. "You can keep me warm."

"I..." He swallowed again. "Rachel, are you –"

She cut off his words with her lips, one hand fisting in the front of his shirt to pull him closer. "I'm sure, Paul," Rachel replied quietly, brushing a thumb across his bottom lip. "I trust you."

Hearing her say that meant more to Paul than anything else could have, and he felt a smile spread wide across his face. "Rach, I love you."

"I know." When she kissed him again, it was firmer and with more intent, and Paul drew her closer with all his previous reservations gone. Rachel was so much more to him than any other girl he's known before – _exponentially _more, to use one of the terms she'd taught him – so he had to know that she trusted him, loved him, without any doubts of her own.

Outside, the sky slowly darkened into twilight and the clouds passed away to leave the world glistening and green, but neither Paul nor Rachel noticed.

* * *

Daylight filtered weakly through the joins in the wooden planking of the shed far too early the next morning, bringing with it a chorus of birdsong which Paul would have normally been totally oblivious to. He normally, however, slept a little further away from the forest in which any number of small, joyful birds had apparently chosen to gather this morning in particular to express their happiness at what had to be one of the first bright mornings of the month.

Unfortunately, telepathic death rays had absolutely no effect on them, so the boy slitted one eye open in disgruntlement, resigned to the prospect of not being able to go back to sleep. It was this moment when, faced with the unfamiliar sight of a workbench covered with various oily and tarnished pieces of some sort of engine, Paul realised that he wasn't actually at home, that he'd spent the night on the floor of Jake's workshop, and that the warm weight resting against his side was Rachel.

Oh. _Right._

He twisted around to look at the girl beside him, fast asleep with her hair (now dry) spread out in a dark fan from where her head was pillowed on his shoulder. The pale sunlight creeping through the cracks of the walls set Rachel's rich skin to glowing, highlighting her cheekbones and casting shadows from her eyelashes to make them appear longer as they lay in crescents upon her cheeks. His movement prompted her forehead to furrow slightly in confusion or displeasure as she made a muffled grumbling noise and burrowed more deeply into his shoulder, and Paul couldn't stop the grin which spread widely across his face.

Rachel was so beautiful, and now she was _his_ more than ever. His arms tightened protectively around her, one hand stroking softly along the length of her spine, and he watched the frown creasing her forehead disappear as she gave a contented little sigh and relaxed back against him, nose nuzzling warmly into his neck.

"Paul?" Her sleepy question was muttered into his skin, sending vibrations across his chest with her breath.

"Hey," the boy murmured in reply, brushing a hand through her hair. "Are you awake?"

Rachel shook her head slightly, and Paul couldn't help the laughter which shook through him. "Stop it," she complained drowsily. "'S making my head bounce." She pushed herself up on one elbow to lean over him, smiling back at Paul with heavily-lidded eyes. "G' morning."

"Hey, babe." He slid one hand lazily up the side of her neck to cup her face, feeling a shiver run down his spine as she turned her head to press a kiss against his palm. "Sleep well?"

"Mmhmm." Rachel settled back down on Paul's chest, her head tucked just under his chin and palm resting flat over his heart. He could feel it hot on his skin, like her handprint was a brand to mark his heart as hers. "Warm."

"Good." His fingers idly traced the shape of her shoulder blade, felt the skin there rise in goose-bumps as Rachel's breathing slowed to an even rhythm. His own breaths steadied to match hers, not quite asleep but content to watch her doze on his chest; not even the increasing discomfort of the hard floor beneath him was enough to prompt Paul to move, to risk disturbing Rachel from where she lay with her skin soft against his, her heartbeat thudding on a level with his own.

The boy still had no idea just what he'd done to deserve this, to deserve _her_. Even when he'd entertained dreams of imprinting – as they all had, at some time or another – loving Rachel surpassed anything he could have possibly imagined. The absolute knowledge that he belonged to her, and that she was his, made any other concept of love he had ever had pale in comparison, made him feel that all of the shit he'd gone through as a werewolf was worth it, just to have this.

"Stop thinking so loudly," Rachel murmured into his neck.

"Sorry," he apologized automatically, dipping his head down to kiss the top of her head. He felt her lips curve into a smile against his skin, felt the tickle of her fingers as she traced a shape on his chest. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes opened – lashes fluttering over his pulse – and glanced up at him with that dark, sleepy gaze. "'S a heart," she told him. "My heart. Thought I'd mark it."

"You don't need to. It's yours already." Rachel laughed then, and he could feel the vibrations of it in every inch of his body. "What?"

"You're so cute when you're being all clichéd," she grinned.

"You're the one who drew a heart on me," Paul objected. He paused. "Cute?"

"Uh huh. Totally."

"Really?"

"Oh, absolutely adorable."

There was a little too much of a mocking note in her voice for him to entirely ignore it. Paul rolled them both over suddenly so that he was leaning over her, braced with a hand on either side of her face as she laughed helplessly. "Are you certain that you've got the right word there? Because really, Rach – adorable?"

"I'm fairly certain I'm right." There was such absolute happiness in her face that he couldn't even keep up the pretence of being annoyed. Besides, Paul supposed that being adorable wasn't _too_ much of a hardship, and he was in a perfect position to kiss her again right that moment, so the issue wasn't terribly important, after all.

"Do you know how much I love you?" she gasped when he finally drew back to let her take a breath.

Paul bent down to brush his lips gently once, twice over hers. "I think I might have an idea."

"I love you stupidly," she continued. "It scares me how much, sometimes."

His eyes sought out hers, held them, but all he could do was nod wordlessly with the truth of the statement. Being this much in love with somebody was terrifying.

"And it's _forever_." Her expression was almost astonished as she dragged one finger along the line of his jaw and over his bottom lip. "I get you forever."

Paul swallowed. _Forever_ was something he'd never really thought about – but it sounded like a really, really long time. Not that he was objecting to that, of course, but it was simply the magnitude of it all suddenly hitting him all at once which seemed to knock all of the breath from his lungs. "Well," he began, but it came out as a croak and he had to swallow once more. "I'm terribly sorry." He grinned then, teeth closing carefully over her finger as she laughed.

"I guess you're stuck with me. I hope it won't be too dreadful for you."

"I'll have to muddle through. Hey, at least you're fully human – and legal – and not my ex's kid."

"Oh, we're joking about that, are we?" But Rachel's eyes were still sparkling with humour, even as she tried to muster a scowl which Paul did his best to kiss away. When he finally pulled away again, he didn't go far; couldn't bring himself to, instead bracing his arms to hover with his face only an inch from hers, their noses almost brushing together.

"You have to admit it's a _little_ bit funny. Even Embry can see that now."

Rachel made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "I hope he imprints on a five year-old."

Paul chuckled, unable to resist pressing a kiss to the tip of his girlfriend's nose. "That's exactly what I said. Not because he laughed at Jake, but..."

She rolled her eyes. "I take it back; I couldn't wish him on some poor unsuspecting child. It would serve him right, though. I don't know why you're grinning, Paul, you're just as bad."

Paul's expression didn't change from the self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah, but I got you."

"I've got low standards." Rachel shifted, winced, sending Paul scrambling backwards in a panic.

"Are you okay? Am I too heavy?"

"Paul, relax. You're a lump, yes, but this floor's just _really_ uncomfortable."

"I could have told you that. You've been lying on top of me all night." He offered her a hand along with a smile which probably came out looking a lot more cheeky than he'd originally intended, and Rachel's fingers wrapped around his but not without a long-suffering sigh. He was fairly certain she wasn't all that serious in her exasperation, though, as in the next moment she had her arms back around his neck. "I'm glad it was you," she told him quietly.

The concept of any of the others having imprinted on his Rachel had a hot surge of rage flooding through Paul, his arms lifting to circle her body possessively as he swallowed the anger down. It took a moment for him to school his voice so that his words didn't come out as a growl. "So you're not still sad it wasn't Leah?" he managed to tease lightly. "I know you were disappointed..."

Those dark, knowing eyes searched his for a second, seeing right through into the seething possessiveness which had threatened to break free, but Rachel's tone was as light as his. "Oh, devastated."

"I knew it." Calmer already, Paul reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind Rachel's ear, fingers lingering. "So what do you say we –"

"Don't." Rachel shook her head to cut him off. "Please don't say anything, because if you do it'll make it so much harder for me to turn down. I have to go soon and start cooking lunch," she explained to Paul's unspoken question. "The Clearwaters and Charlie Swan are coming over, and I volunteered. I didn't know we had plans."

"We didn't, I guess." Still unwilling to let go of his mate, Paul twisted his fingers gently in the ends of her hair. "Ugh, Chief Swan? That should be awkward."

Charlie's abrupt introduction into the supernatural world – all thanks, Paul considered wryly, to Jacob – had sent small shock waves through the Black household and had everybody walking on eggshells. The Chief seemed to be regarding everything around him with wide, stunned eyes, as if afraid that something or someone might at any moment explode (or, perhaps, turn into a giant wolf) while everyone else was half afraid that Charlie himself was the one who would suddenly crack. This was all while steadfastly avoiding the entire issue and listening to him rave about his new granddaughter, even as he ignored that there was anything strange or unnatural about the demon spawn's existence in the first place.

Paul had been so glad to get out of there as soon as he could when he went to meet Rachel on Thursday and found them all sitting uncomfortably in the living room. The Chief had taken one long look at him before shuddering and turning away which – while on some level possibly understandable – was nonetheless really, really awkward.

"It shouldn't be too bad." Rachel didn't, however, sound entirely convinced about that. "I'd invite you too, but I think you and Leah combined might be a little much for Charlie to handle."

"What makes you say that?" Paul tried for an innocent grin, but the amused glance Rachel threw him made it clear that she wasn't fooled.

"I have no idea." She pressed her lips to his in one last, lingering kiss before dodging nimbly back from his reach. "Come on, we need to go. Don't _pout _like that, Paul."

He hadn't been pouting. That was something Haley did.

Rachel glanced back over her shoulder at where he still sat on the floor as she wiggled into her underwear. "Stop sulking."

He wasn't sulking either. "I'm just enjoying the view."

Only his wolf reflexes stopped him from being hit in the face by his own shorts, but he could see the smile that Rachel was trying to hide. "Perv."

"But you still love me."

"Stop fishing for compliments and get dressed, boy." Paul merely sat still, grinning affectionately up at her, for all of the three seconds that Rachel managed to hold on to her mock-glower. "Fine, yes, I love you too." Her face softened. "Thank you, Paul."

They crept back into the house through Rachel's bedroom window, trying to be as quiet as possible; neither was entirely certain what time it was, but it was light enough that Billy might already be awake. 'Quiet', however, wasn't exactly successful as Rachel kept giggling and Paul could only try to muffle his responding laughter. They probably hadn't needed to bother.

Leah was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her eyebrows drawn together in a dangerous scowl, and Rachel gasped. "Leah –"

"I don't even want to know. God, Rachel –" Leah bit off the words savagely as her friend fixed her gaze guiltily on the carpet. "God, _Paul?_" She gave a disgusted shudder which only had the couple's eyes flickering towards one another and then quickly away again to keep from laughing.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel demanded, managing to steady her voice into some semblance of composure. "I mean – my room –"

"I came to help with the food. Your dad sent me in here to wake you." Leah turned her disapproving glare back to Paul, but continued to address Rachel. "He thinks you've been home all night."

"I'm grown up enough not to spend every night in my own bed, Leah," Rachel retorted. "Dad knew Paul would probably be in here anyway."

"Deborah must be thrilled," Leah replied icily. "Rachel, go take a shower. Please."

Paul had taken half an angry step forward, already snarling with fury, before Rachel's hand on his arm managed to stop him in his tracks. "I love you too, honey," she laughed, and to Paul's bewilderment it seemed like she actually meant it. Leah sniffed in response, but didn't say anything. "Paul..."

"I'll head out," he offered. Without waiting for a reply – and casting one defiant flick of his eyes in the direction of the girl still on the bed – Paul crowded close to Rachel so that her hands came up to grip his forearms, face tilted up to his. "See you later, Rach." And then he dipped down quickly to meet her lips, felt her return the kiss and let it last longer than was strictly necessary to say goodbye – partly to spite Leah, and partly because Rachel just tasted so damn good – before stepping back.

Leah seemed to be choking on something, but they both ignored her.

"Bye, Paul." Rachel's smile was radiant, and the boy bent to brush his lips over hers once more for good measure, murmuring his own goodbye in the breath separating them.

"You are such a sixteen year-old boy," Leah told him in disgust.

"Seventeen now." Paul grinned unrepentantly.

"My invitation to the party must have gone missing," the girl hissed caustically.

"Aw, I knew you'd missed me." Paul was halfway out the window before he turned, glanced wickedly at Leah. "Next time you see Jake, tell him that the floor of his shed really isn't very comfortable. Love you, Rach."

Rachel's outraged _"Paul!"_ rung in his ears to make him laugh as he fled back across the yard towards the trees, happy to put distance between himself and Leah.

"Paul!" This voice was different, and he slowed to see Jared loping across from the direction of the road. "Hey, man, where are you going?"

"Leah caught Rachel and me sneaking back into her room just now." He grinned. "Thought I'd drop into the pack. You just off patrol?"

"Yeah." Jared eyes suddenly widened. "Paul, you didn't –"

The boy shrugged, trying to appear casual, but he was fairly certain that he hadn't been able to erase _all_ of the smugness from his expression. Jared's smile grew wider and he copied Paul in hurriedly shucking off his shorts.

"Dude, you –"

Paul fell forward onto four paws, and the first thing he heard was Jared's gleeful tone in his head. _– you slept with Rachel? Fucking finally!_

_Oh my God. _Jeremy sounded horrified. _Oh, _God.

_I hate to say it because it's you, Paul, but congrats, man. _Quil grinned.

_Hey, why's everyone here?_ He'd known that they'd find out, sure, but he hadn't known they'd _all_ be there right away.

Sam cleared his throat loudly. _And on that note, I'd like to introduce Paul to our newest member of the pack._

_Oh. Right._ The immediate shock of phasing wearing off, as it always did, Paul became aware of the individual minds linked to his own, and in particular the panicked undercurrent of confusion and terror which typically accompanied a new wolf. He winced. _Sorry, man. Welcome – _

_What'd I miss?_ Embry flashed into the pack mind.

_Paul got laid!_ Jared and Quil chorused in tandem.

_...And we have another newbie,_ Sam added dryly. _Say hi to Nick._

_Hi, Nick. _Embry gave the new kid a quick once-over before turning to Paul. _Dude, that's awesome!_

Nick whimpered.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review xxx :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Happy Halloween! I know this is a little late again...**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! And it's great to hear from the new readers too :) WLS was rec'd on phasefics (dot) com, which looks to be an amazing site for pack fics - take a look!**

**We're on chapter 26 now...I never planned this story to be so long! (I didn't plan it at all, which was maybe the problem...) Thanks for sticking with me xxx :)**

**

* * *

**

_What'd I miss? _Embry flashed into the pack mind.

_Paul got laid!_ Jared and Quil chorused in tandem.

_...And we have another newbie,_ Sam added dryly. _Say hi to Nick._

_Hi, Nick. _Embry gave the new kid a quick once-over before turning to Paul. _Dude, that's awesome!_

Nick whimpered.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Nick Moon was thirteen years old, in the same grade as Collin and Brady. If they hadn't spent so much time skipping class (their justification was that they still had control issues and were liable to turn into wolves at any time, which was not only almost reasonable but also far better than the average excuse), the two boys might have noticed how their friend was suddenly bulking up on muscle.

As it was, Nick's parents had been totally unprepared when their son exploded into a mass of fur shortly after waking him up that Sunday morning. There was no way to convince them that they _hadn't_ seen him turn into a wolf right in front of them, so Sam was taking a different approach to them than he had with the other pack parents.

"I thought we weren't supposed to tell uninvolved people the _truth_," Brady muttered darkly at Emily's kitchen table, where they had gathered for lunch.

"They're not exactly uninvolved if they saw it happen, Brady," Jared snapped. Having been on patrol the night before, he wasn't in the best of moods but refused to go home to sleep in favour of pack drama – and Emily's cooking. "And the fewer people we tell, the better. How do you think your mom would react if you told her? Do you _want _to spend your life in therapy?"

"I could phase in front of her," the younger boy argued. "Like Jake did to show Chief Swan."

"Do you want your _mom_ to spend her life in therapy?" Embry countered. "And before you say anything, Bella's dad's a special case."

"Two new wolves," Jared groaned. "How many more are there going to be?"

They all fell silent at that. Just where _would _it end? Paul wondered. Would it keep happening as long as the Cullens were nearby – new generations of kids growing up and phasing right as they struck puberty? Jake certainly didn't seem to be making any plans to move out of the area, and there was no way he'd stay if his demon baby imprint was leaving.

"Well," Emily commented lightly as she laid a full plateful of steaming muffins on the table, "I'm going to need a bigger kitchen if it carries on like this."

Embry cast a sly sideways glance at Paul. "Maybe Paul and Rachel can take that into account when they move in together."

Paul didn't say anything; he merely dropped his eyes to the table, wondering what exactly he could say to that.

"Can she make muffins as good as Emily's?" Brady demanded around a mouthful of cake. "Because if not, the deal's off."

"Yeah, because I'm sure she'd be so happy to have _you_ hanging around all the time," Embry scoffed. "Emily has to, she's our pack mother." He grinned winningly up at Sam's mate, who just laughed and ruffled a hand affectionately through his short hair even as she absently flicked his hand away from the last muffin and pushed it towards Jeremy instead.

Jared, however, ignored their banter – his gaze was still fixed upon Paul. "Uh oh. What's that look for?"

"Shut up, Jared." But he'd already drawn the attention of the others to Paul, and they were watching him expectantly with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

"What is it, Paul?" Emily asked with concern.

"Look," Paul began awkwardly. "There's no guarantee that if – when – I finish school and we decide to move in together, that we're..." He coughed. "We probably won't be living on the rez. Or anywhere near it."

There was silence.

"You...what? Why?" Brady choked. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"You'd seriously consider that?" Embry asked more quietly. "Like...really?"

Paul sighed. "It's a little complicated. That's why I didn't say anything before." He shrugged. "I've been trying not to think about it, to be honest."

"Rachel wouldn't be happy staying here." For the first time, Jeremy spoke up quietly. It was also, incidentally, the first pack gathering he'd attended in human form; he'd regained enough control in the past couple of days to maintain the shape, although it was still a little dodgy and he was trying his utmost to remain calm. Paul was fairly confident of his ability to do it, though, and it was a sign of the general pack's confidence in him that he'd been allowed in Emily's kitchen. "There's nothing for her to do here."

"So she'd make Paul move away?" Embry replied angrily. "That's –"

"It's not like that," Paul snapped. "And it's my choice too."

"She's already turned down an internship to stay here for now," Emily added softly, dropping a calming hand on Paul's shoulder. "Don't judge her, Embry, when you don't understand."

"Rachel told you about that?" Paul was stunned. Yes, he knew that his mate had been making a greater effort to like Emily, but not that she'd confided in her.

"It's easier for me to know what she's going through," Sam's mate replied simply. Paul didn't know what to say to that, so he settled for reaching up to pat her hand awkwardly where it rested on his shoulder.

"The _point _is that we could be losing a pack member," Brady insisted. "Another one. That would put us four down. Although, to be honest, it's Paul..."

"Shut it, asshole." But he was grinning as he swiped the other boy over the head. Brady, however, didn't know when to keep his mouth shut – one of the biggest problems, Paul had found, with the thirteen year-old pack members. And now there were three of them.

"Why couldn't Rachel have taken the internship anyway?" he insisted. "People do long-distance relationships all the time."

Paul shared an exasperated _look_ with Jared and Emily – one that only those who had imprinted would understand – but it was Jared who jumped in to explain.

"Look, Brady," he started with mock-patience, "you don't get it. You think you do, but...Jake, much as I hate to use anything he came up with, once said it's like gravity. Gravity draws you to the earth, right? Well let's say that the imprint – Rachel, in this case – is the earth."  
"Move the earth hundreds of kilometres away. To Boise," Paul continued as Brady opened his mouth to argue. "What's happened to my centre of gravity?"

Brady frowned. "I'm pretty sure that's not what a centre of gravity –"

"It's a metaphor, Brady," Jared growled.

"So you fall a really long way and then go splat? Nice, Jared."

"I didn't say it was a _perfect_ metaphor, Embry."

Paul gave a long suffering sigh. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Embry. I can't _wait_ until you imprint. What's so funny, Emily?"

The woman hastily covered her smile with one hand. "Oh, nothing at all."

"Is imprinting really all that inevitable?" Jeremy asked curiously. "I mean, you all talk about it like it's definitely going to happen..."

"We don't know for certain." Emily smiled at the not-quite-newest wolf fondly. "Sam originally thought it was fairly rare – that's what the stories led us to believe, at least. But now..."

"We've had Sam, Jared, Quil, Paul and now Jake imprinting," Embry added. "That's half the pack – well, before you and Nick. You've thrown numbers off a little."

"There's plenty of time, though," Jared grinned. "We've almost given up on Embry, but – hey!" He rubbed his arm where Embry had punched him, and Paul rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, just keep an eye out for that special girl, Jer."

"Oh, don't you sound smug?" Embry smirked.

"Play nice, boys," Emily warned them. "Don't traumatize Nick."

"He's not here!" Brady protested.

She laughed. "I know what you're like. You can practice now. Besides, who knows how many more you'll get?"

"Ugh, I hope we don't. No matter what you say about losing a pack member, Brady, there are honestly too many of us." Jared shot a glance at his friend, grinned. "I think we can stand to lost Paul."

"Thanks for that, man."

"You know it's never a problem."

As September turned to October and then on into November it seemed, however, as if there was no further need for concern – about anything they'd previously been worried about. Not only did all the young teenagers on the rez appear to be remarkably stable (for teenagers, anyway), but Sam had decided that the two packs should make a greater effort to get along. In that vein, he and Emily had bitten the bullet and gone over to Forks to visit Bella, Jacob and Renesmee at Chief Swan's house. To Paul's absolute disgust, they'd seemingly taken one look at the demon spawn and decided that something so adorable couldn't _possibly _be evil

"What the _hell?_" Rachel had demanded as soon as Paul returned to her with the news, her voice at least one octave and several tones higher than normal. "They're suddenly going to be totally fine with my baby brother dating a toddler? I don't fucking believe it."

She steadfastly refused to go to Forks, despite all of Emily's implorations. The news of Renesmee's accelerated growth had only made matters worse ("She's going to be full grown at _seven?_ Oh my god. Oh my _god._") and Paul found himself caught right between the two women. Apparently, Emily was so charmed by the vampire baby that the continued rift between the Black siblings upset her, and since Sam couldn't bear to see his mate distressed he'd been not-so-subtly pressuring Paul into convincing Rachel to mend affairs.

For once in their lives the rest of the pack actually tried to keep their thoughts regarding the matter to themselves – imprints were a touchy subject, and nobody wanted to get stuck in the middle of the wolves and their mates – but occasionally a stray thought would filter through. Unsurprisingly, Embry and Quil were fascinated by their best friend's imprint and continually demanding updates on her progress. Jared was more wary, and Jeremy was similarly conflicted but leaning more towards the idea that the whole situation was way too creepy to be totally normal. Collin and Brady had, incredibly, kept quiet about the entire issue, and Nick was still too new and confused to really form an opinion. Having never really spent much time with Jacob, it didn't really affect him anyway besides what little was allowed to leak over into the pack mind.

The debate may have been greater had there not been another question overriding it. For a while now, it had been clear that the growth of the pack was affecting its dynamic more than they'd anticipated; the size of it, and residual rivalries back from Jacob's original defection, was causing tempers to fray more easily than usual. Nick and Jeremy were both struggling as a result, and Embry destroyed his first set of clothes in months after a seemingly insignificant discussion with Jared. Emily was three plates short, not even counting the two accidentally smashed as Paul and Quil had hurriedly pushed a shaking Jeremy out of the door as he started to phase.

Rather than fewer patrols thanks to the more cordial relations between packs, the older wolves were needed around even more to keep everyone in line. Even that wasn't entirely successful, as both Jared and Paul resented the time spent away from their mates and were liable to take out their frustration on the younger boys. Paul _really_ hated spending too much time away from Rachel.

"Paul, why does Collin blush every time he sees me at the store?" Rachel demanded one day.

"Ah..." Paul desperately searched for an excuse, but there really wasn't anything he could say. "I miss you?" he tried.

Rachel cocked one eyebrow.

"When I miss you, I think about you," he continued. "And when I last saw you...and I can't _help _it!"

"You're such a guy," she grumbled.

"They've all seen Leah naked too," he offered, but that only earned him a dirty look from his girlfriend.

"Oh, because that makes it so much better. Leah's always been stunning."

Paul shrugged. "Not as gorgeous as you." Rachel laughed then, leaning forward quickly to kiss him.

"Cheesy, but it was a nice thought."

"Um...am I interrupting something?"

Rachel jerked back, an almost guilty expression on her face, but Paul just rolled his eyes. "Awesome timing, Brady," Paul growled with mock-ferocity. "Every time."

"Not _every_ time," Rachel commented under her breath.

"God, don't remind me." Brady rolled his eyes. "Every damn time he phases..."

"Shut _up_, Brady," they snapped together.

"What's up this time?" Paul demanded. "Because if you've just dropped by to say hi..."

"Believe me, I wouldn't interrupt your Rachel-time, it makes you even less bearable. Sam's spoken to _your_ brother, and now he wants a full pack meeting."

"I'm not responsible for Jacob's actions," Rachel replied mildly. "You're not very nice to each other, are you?"

"He's learning," Paul grinned. "Where are we going?"

"Beach. Emily says she doesn't want any more of her house destroyed today." The boy winced. "I, uh...got pissed off and broke the back door."

Rachel half-choked on her laugh as she tried to hold it in at Brady's wounded expression. "Fair enough. Hope you boys have fun."

"Oh, you're coming too," Brady informed her loftily. "And we have to pick up your dad on the way, too. Sam really means a _full_ pack meeting."

"Oh, god, what's Jake done now?" Rachel groaned.

"He's a dick." Brady shrugged.

"Brady!" Paul glanced towards his girlfriend for her reaction.

"What? I can say it, I'm not sleeping with his sister." The thirteen year-old grinned beatifically.

"Bastard." It was hissed under Paul's breath too low for Rachel to hear, but Brady smirked wickedly as he opened his mouth to respond. "Say it and I will end you," Paul growled.

"It's not nice to whisper, boys," Rachel told them primly, but Paul could see that she was trying not to smile and threaded his fingers through hers as he grinned down at her with mock contrition.

"Sorry, babe," he apologized while Brady rolled his eyes again – the kid was doing that an awful lot.

By some miracle, the evening Sam had chosen for the pack meeting was actually dry; it didn't even_ look_ like it was going to rain. A chill wind was whipping around the base of the cliffs, however, as the four of them made their way along the beach to where a small group was already gathered about the beginnings of a bonfire. Shivering, Rachel snuggled close into Paul's side as soon as he and Brady had set down Billy's wheelchair, and he was happy to draw her close as he glanced around the circle.

It was almost – almost – like old times. There was Sam with Emily, Kim tucked tightly against Jared (he and Paul exchanged grins), Embry, Quil and Old Quil next to Billy and Sue Clearwater. Paul wished that Rachel could have been around before, could have seen the pack when everything was new and exciting, with Billy about to tell one of his old stories of the Cold Ones around the bonfire on a cool evening with the sound of the ocean in the background. For a moment it was like it had been then, save for the soft warmth of Rachel's head on his shoulder and her fingers around his, but Paul looked again and there was so much different.

It was different in who _was_ there – Collin, Brady, Jeremy and Nick – and also in who wasn't, with Jake and the Clearwater kids absent. The mood, too, was nothing like it would have been once, but Paul had no use for nostalgia. What they'd seen – what they'd done – couldn't be taken back, and they'd all changed so much (well, all of them except Embry, maybe) that trying to go back to how it had been before was completely pointless.

It wasn't like all the changes were bad, anyway. Jacob was gone, after all – and then there was Rachel. Both of those were huge positives as far as Paul was concerned.

He was jerked from his thoughts when Rachel nudged her elbow into his side. "Hey, what're you looking at me like that for?"

"Like what?" He couldn't resist the opportunity to kiss her upturned face.

"Paul!" she hissed, pulling back quickly. "My _dad's_ watching!"

"Oh. _Oh._ Sorry." The boy glanced hastily up, managed to catch Billy's eye as the elder's face was set in an expression of disapproval. His gaze skittered on, only to see Jared laughing at him.

"You're actually blushing." Rachel tried to smother her grin with one hand, failing miserably as her laughter bubbled out around it.

"He's adorable," Quil deadpanned.

"Completely," Kim agreed with a giggle, grinning at Rachel.

"_Kim!_" Jared protested.

"Children, no fighting," Sue interrupted, hiding her smile not altogether successfully. "Sam, if everyone's here should we get on with the meeting?" The pack leader nodded, taking to his feet and glancing around the circle sternly until everyone settled down – Brady and Collin continuing to snicker until Old Quil clipped them none-too-gently around the head.

When the boys had finally stilled, there was an eerie silence broken only by the crackle of the fire. It was as if, now that Sam had them all gathered together, he didn't quite know what to say; suddenly uneasy, the hair on the back of Paul's neck prickled.

"The pack's not working," the Alpha blurted at last. "We can't carry on like this."

"We know _that_," Brady frowned. "I don't –"

"Be quiet, Brady," Billy growled.

"We can't carry on, all of us, like this," Sam repeated. "I spoke to Jacob. He..." The pack leader took a breath, and Paul was almost certain he sure the man's eyes flicker to Emily as if for reassurance. "He's willing to accept you if you want to leave."

It took a moment for the words to register.

"He _what_?" Jared demanded at last.

Paul's mouth had dropped open in shock. "Is this a joke?"

Sam shook his head slowly. "It's not."

"It's a reasonable decision." Billy's words were thoughtful, spoken carefully. "To have two packs of manageable size. I'm sure –"

"Jake didn't even want _Seth_," Collin interrupted with incredulity. "And he definitely didn't want Leah around. Sorry, Mrs Clearwater," he added with an apologetic glance at the rogue wolves' mother. "But seriously, why would he suddenly want a bigger pack now?"

"Yeah, we're not fighting each other anymore," Brady agreed. "Just because there are so many of us..."

"There's no precedent for it, certainly," Billy told them. "But that's hardly surprising, as there have never been two packs before, and there haven't been this many wolves before either – not even the last time the Cullens settled here."

"It's just come down to the fact that we _can't_ have a pack this big any more – not with everything that's happened already," Sam continued. "You don't have to go, any of you, and we'll think of something else. But..."

The point was left hanging there. In the silence, Paul knew that he would never leave Sam's pack for Jacob's, couldn't see how any of them would now. What did Sam mean, after _everything that's happened already_? As if sensing his bewilderment, Rachel tightened her grip on his hand, her eyes seeking out his as he turned to her and filled with as much confusion as he felt himself.

"I don't understand." Jeremy spoke up. "Why would we want to leave this pack for another? I don't want a new Alpha."

"I don't _know_ Jacob," Nick added.

"I'm not leaving." Jared's tone was flat.

"No way," Paul agreed.

"Nu-uh."

"Nope."

Everybody looked at Embry and Quil.

"To be honest, this was mostly aimed at you two anyway," Sam told them quietly. "I've heard how you feel."

The two boys exchanged a glance. "Look," Quil began. "It's not you, it's –"

"Dude, are you _breaking up_ with us?"

The question was real, genuinely meant – trust Brady – but it was as if a bubble had burst. It didn't matter who had laughed first, or that there was a slightly hysterical note to it, but the awkwardness was gone.

"So we're actually getting rid of them at last?" Jared grinned. "Hey, with Jake _and_ Quil in the pack it'll practically be the babysitter's club."

"Leah's gonna love this," Paul added. "I mean, really. She'll be your _beta_."

"Oh, _shit_!" Embry swore. "Seriously?" He glanced up at Sue. "Sorry, Mrs Clearwater."

Billy shot the boy a withering look before turning his attention to the rest gathered around the fire. "So I'm getting the general consensus to this is...?"

"It's good," Jared replied instantly.

"It'll work," Quil agreed.

"Pretty much what I expected," Sam admitted. He flashed a quick, uncharacteristic grin. "Thank god."

"Hey!" Embry protested. "If you wanted us to go that badly..."

Sam jostled his friend with one elbow, still grinning. "It took you long enough to get the idea."

"You wanted to keep us!" he argued.

"Hey, don't turn it around like that," Paul teased. "We had some good times, didn't we?"

"Man, now it really does sound like we're breaking up," Quil grinned.

"Yeah? Well, we so dumped you."

"Nice, boys." Emily smiled fondly at them. "You two had better be careful, all right? And be nice to Leah. Yes, you do have to," she added.

Embry closed his mouth with a snap, mimed locking it and throwing away the key.

"Like that'll last long," Brady sniggered. He paused. "So...how is it supposed to work?"

Every one of them turned to look at Sam. "Jacob's coming down to the beach," he told them. "I don't know how he wants to do it."

"You don't need all of us then, do you?" Jared asked, half-rising to his feet in anticipation of the answer. "This is the first free evening I've had for ages..." His hand dropped to Kim's shoulder and she blushed furiously; Paul couldn't suppress a grin at his friend, for which Rachel's elbow dug sharply into his ribs.

"Sure, you can go. But don't forget patrol tomorrow!" Sam raised his voice above the flurry of movement around the fire, boys jumping up to leave. Paul glanced up as Rachel rose too, one hand on her arm to still her for a moment.

"Don't you want –"

"You can stay if you like, Paul." Her voice was suddenly flat, eyes dark enough that he couldn't read them. He knew, however, that she was standing firm on this one – she _wasn't_ going to stay and talk to her brother – and just nodded.

"I'm not going to stay, Rach." She bent, quickly, to kiss his cheek, firelight flickering into her eyes as she moved enough for him to see the gratitude in them.

Billy, however, was watching with a scowl. "Rachel –"

"I'll see you later, Dad." Chin lifted high, she stared him down until her father at last conceded a stiff nod, his eyes filled with a sadness which made Paul uncomfortable to see. "Come on, Paul."

"Rachel –"

"_Don't_, Dad!" She spun back around, hair flaring out around her face. "I talked to him, okay? I said some things...he said some things...and I called to apologise, afterwards. He knows where to find me if he wants, but it's not going to be here. Come _on, _Paul."

The boy wished, so much, that he knew what to say to either of them; seeing Billy so lost was unnerving, and Rachel's pain was almost palpable to him, but he felt younger than ever in that moment as he followed his mate a few steps away from the fire. "Rach..."

"I'm okay." The woman turned, offered him a shaky smile. "Thank you, Paul."

"You could have told me, if you wanted." Sure, he knew she didn't have to tell him everything, but he hated knowing that she'd been hurt and hadn't told him so he could at least have tried to help.

Rachel's smile this time was more genuine. "I might be arguing with Jake, but I _do_ still want him alive." Fair point.

"Paul?" Quil stood awkwardly behind him with Embry at his side. "We were just...yeah." He huffed out a breath. "This is weird."

He became abruptly aware that by having the boys transfer to Jacob's pack, it wasn't just as simple as Quil and Embry swapping allegiance to a new Alpha. They were _leaving the pack, _and the full import of that suddenly crashed down on Paul's head. "It's weird," he agreed.

A few seconds of silence passed as they each searched for something to say, but a wolf's howl sounded from the forest at the edge of the beach before any of them spoke again. It was a howl they all recognised.

"Jake's here," Embry muttered unnecessarily.

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Well...I guess I'll see you around."

"I guess." The awkward shoulder-punch Quil gave him as he passed said more than words ever could – because how could they really express so many months' worth of living in one another's heads, of patrolling and fighting alongside them?

"See you around, Paul."

Another howl sounded as Rachel silently took Paul's hand in hers, and to him it sounded oddly mournful as they turned their backs and walked away.

* * *

**xxx :)**


End file.
